RUSH: Open Line Friday, Rush Limbaugh here at 800-282-2882. Feel free, whatever you want to talk about. If you’ve got questions, if you have comments about things not in the news, this is — I’ll tell you how this started.
I want you to know how Open Line Friday started. When this program began we didn’t take very many phone calls at all. It was a new program. It was under the microscope of analysis ’cause it was unlike anything else. There were no guests. There were no authors. There were no people on here pushing anything. It was just me and the things I care about, was passionate about, thought were funny, for three hours each and every day.
And in the early stages, many of the calls were about me. Many of the calls expressing love and adoration, some expressing anger and outright displeasure, how can somebody with such an ego like you be hosting a radio show, ’cause it was new. And I began to realize that there were fewer and fewer people calling to talk about issues.
So I used Open Line Friday to let people talk about something besides me. And that’s how it began. And it is a tradition unlike any other. We have held on to it and we offer it each Friday as an opportunity for you to talk about anything ’cause Monday through Thursday the program’s tightly screened. You have to talk about things I care about, or we ask you to call back Friday. That’s what it’s for.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Now, you say, “What was the Loser Update?” Take a brief break, and I’ll explain it to you when we come back. Don’t go away.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Somebody bringing in bumper tunes from home here. Quick, what’s the year of this? (interruption) You’re close. It’s ’65. Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Wooly Bully, somehow finding its way into the bumper rotation here. Okay. We go back to 1988. It was George H. W. Bush seeking the presidency. Well, what he was say was Ronald’s third term, and the Democrat opponent was Michael Dukakis — the boring, tiny governor of Massachusetts — whose big claim to fame was telling people how much he loved “process.”
There was a debate, and it was anchored by then-news anchor — primetime news anchor — Bernard Shaw, who asked Dukakis what would happen if his wife got raped and he was a witness to it. Does he think that the death penalty or severe penalty…? Dukakis gave an answer that was devoid of any empathy, any emotional connect. (paraphrased) “Well, Bernard, when we talk about rape, we must make sure that we advance as much evidence we can to understand that the allegations against the rapists are fully, fully explored and understood. If people could…”
He just asked you, “If your wife got raped, what would you do,” and you’re standing there acting a wonk? So it led to panic on the campaign. This was after Dukakis did a Beetle Bailey impersonation to show that he was a tough guy. He put on an Army helmet while being driven around in a tank, and it just looked pathetically comical. So it was getting down… I mean, at one time — Susan Estrich was the campaign manager — they had 19-point lead over George H. W. Bush, and the lead was dwindling with and dwindling as Dukakis kept doing this kind of stuff.
There was one last rally a couple of days before the end in Boston before the election, where Dukakis could rally the troops, raise one last bit of money, and our microphones were there as the band that was gonna get everybody all excited and revved up and ready to go. It started playing the moment Dukakis entered the stage… (The Dukakis Victory Band) The crowd’s trying to go nuts but they don’t know what’s going on. Dukakis is looking around, wondering what’s happening.
(song continues) the band tries to get it together here, but they just can’t pull it off. You’ll hear it in a moment. (song continues) And here we go! (song continues) Now it’s at this point where the band tapers down and it’s time for Dukakis start giving the speech, and this is it. This is when Dukakis made the big final push here. It’s the Loser Update Theme. (song continues) And then they had the election and Dukakis lost, and that was it. The Loser Update Theme.