RUSH: Here is Mark in Pittsburgh. It’s great to have you, sir. Hi.

CALLER: Hi. How you doing?

RUSH: Very well.

CALLER: Mega dittos.

RUSH: Thank you very much.

CALLER: Hey, I wanted to ask you for your thoughts on a couple items. First of all, is Apple’s earnings exceeded expectations in spite of the slamming they took from the Drive-By Media? What do you think of that?

RUSH: In the second quarter, what they just reported? Yes. Did I hear you right, are you asking me if Apple’s earnings exceeding —

CALLER: Yes. What are your thoughts about that in spite of the bashing they took by the liberal Drive-By Media?

RUSH: Oh. Oh. Well, this whole thing with Apple fascinates me. I think it is a microcosm example of what happens all across this country in media fraud. I think it’s classic. And this is not just media fraud. This is Wall Street analyst fraud as well. You’ve got various analysts at various Wall Street firms who issue their notes to clients, and they tell ’em, “We think Apple’s a bad investment because they didn’t meet the PD ratio,” whatever it is, or there’s a problem in the supply chain. Apple has been, since last September, deluged with negative upon negative upon negative report and they still beat expectations. They beat their own and they beat the analysts expectations, and the stock is up big today as a result. I think it’s fascinating. In other words, to put this in perspective, Mark, last week Apple reported results that would have been the envy — stick with me here because I know you’ve got other things you want to ask me.

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: But they reported results that any other company would kill to have. In fact, they have now become, again today because of the stock price rise, the most valuable corporation in the world. They’ve launched, lurched past Exxon again. All during this period of time — (crosstalk)

CALLER: — new wonderful products they got just waiting in the wings. I can’t wait. I mean, I can’t wait for the next thing that comes out from them. You know it’s gonna be fantastic.

RUSH: Well, that’s the expectation. Well, no, the expectation is that it isn’t gonna be fantastic. The expectation is it isn’t gonna be anything special. The expectation is it’s over. The expectation is that the CEO, Tim Cook, is lousy and ought to be fired. That’s what Wall Street’s saying. That’s what analysts, that’s what the media’s saying. That it’s over. That ever since Steve Jobs died this company’s gone to hell in a handbasket and they can’t beat Samsung.

You know what’s happening? Look, folks. I can’t be too critical. This is capitalism. It’s vicious out there. Samsung is paying a lot of people to blog how horrible Apple is. They did that against HTC. I shouldn’t say this with certitude. It is highly likely, according to people who know, that Samsung may be engaging in this process, all because they lost that billion-dollar settlement against Apple in the infringement of copyright.

But it’s vicious out there. Apple hasn’t said a word during all this. They just keep trucking. But the expectation is the iPhone, no big deal anymore. The iPad, no big deal. The latest news is that the supply chain’s so screwed up that there’s not gonna be a new iPad Mini until next year ’cause they can’t make the screens. The iPhone 5S is not gonna be anything special, nothing to see here, the new software. Every day it’s Apple’s over, and yet there is an auction — get this — the Robert F. Kennedy foundation for whatever is auctioning various items. One of them is 30 minutes to an hour with Tim Cook, coffee with Tim Cook in his office. You pay to get there, but on Friday it was up to 600 grand, and there’s still 13 or 12 days to go on this. It’s gonna top out at over a million dollars.

Now, what’s happening is that some people are bidding knowing full well they’ll never get it because everybody that bids is made public. So people are getting their names mentioned as having this much desire to see the CEO, just talk to him about whatever for an hour, Tim Cook. I’m an Apple evangel even though they would probably cringe if I walked in the front door. I’m sure they would. If I walked in the front door they’d call security and say, “Shut it down.” But I love ’em. I’m dazzled by ’em, and I look at what’s happening, and it’s kind of like Bush and the Republican Party. Every day they’re assaulting them and Apple doesn’t say a word. And all these Apple fans and supporters are desperate for Apple to say something, “Would you defend yourselves? Would you come out –“

CALLER: Oh, yes, fantastic products.

RUSH: What’s the next thing you wanted to bring up?

CALLER: What do you think of Tim Tebow for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Could you imagine having Roethlisberger and Tebow in a dual shotgun in a play?

RUSH: I don’t think the Steelers are the team for Tebow. Not with a dominant pocket passer. You’re not gonna fool anybody. You got Roethlisberger in the shotgun with Tebow, not gonna fool anybody. If the Steelers bring him in, bring him in as a tight end or a running back, H back or something, but he doesn’t want to do that. He wants to be quarterback.

CALLER: Well, it would split the pass rush and freeze all the linebackers.

RUSH: Tebow would split the pass rush and —

CALLER: You’d have to watch ’em both.

RUSH: But how many times a game are you gonna bring him in to do that to surprise people? I mean, you’re not gonna put him out there every play so that kind of defeats — and the Steelers are a fundamentalist team. They’re not gimmicks. They’re not gonna do that — other than defense.

CALLER: He’s certainly undervalued right now, I would think.

RUSH: Well, you know, somebody sent me a note before the program today thinking, I can’t believe — whoever Tebow’s agent is cannot be — two years ago, most popular, most intriguing player in the league, and today nobody wants him. How did that happen? You can blame the agent all you want, but when John Elway says you can’t play, I’m sorry, I don’t know how you recover from that. And John Elway made it plain that he doesn’t think Tebow can play. So the Jets bring him in, and the Jets bring him in for whatever, and he didn’t play with the Jets, and if he didn’t play with the Jets, and their quarterback situation — it’s a curious thing, but he’s heck bent on being a quarterback. I just don’t think the Steelers are the place for Tebow, given their structure. What’s the next thing you wanted to ask?

CALLER: I think that Pittsburgh should rename the Rachel Carson Bridge to the Bringer of Death Bridge. She did kill more children than Planned Parenthood.

RUSH: Well, which bridge is the Rachel Carson Bridge?

CALLER: I believe it’s the one going to the baseball stadium.

RUSH: You live in Pittsburgh, and you don’t know?

CALLER: Ah, I don’t get downtown that often anymore, and I’m so turned off by the whole Rachel Carson situation that I don’t even think about it because it’s sad how many people suffered because she wanted to sell a lot of books.

RUSH: They musta named it the Rachel Carson Bridge after I left.

CALLER: Yeah, they did, it’s a recent thing.

RUSH: They would not have done that when I lived there, trust me.