From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Subject: Summary Thu 8/20/92
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 19:51:50 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Summary: Unofficial Summary for Thursday, August 20, 1992 
Distribution: world,usa,na
Keywords: Unofficial Summary Rush Limbaugh

Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show

for Thursday, August 20, 1992

by John Switzer

NOTE: This is being posted to both alt.fan.rush-limbaugh and
alt.rush-limbaugh and thus you may see it twice if your sysadm
aliases the two newsgroups together. Since most sites don't
support both groups, this double-posting appears to be
unavoidable, however, if anyone has any ideas on how to avoid it,
please let me know. Thanks - jrs@netcom.com.

This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1992 by John Switzer.
All Rights Reserved. Distribution of this unofficial summary to
other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly encouraged.
Spelling and other corrections gratefully received.

Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the
first summary for this month. In particular, please note that
this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or
the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other as
a daily listener.

******************************************************************

August 20, 1992

NEWS

o       Arroyo Burro Beach in Santa Barbara County was closed
Monday because swimmers reported seeing "black blobs" in the
water that stank of sulfur. Officials, though, determined that
the blobs were decaying pools of oil; these pools were naturally
released from fissures in the sea bed, bringing organic matter up
with them to the surface. The action of the sea and wind quickly
cleaned up the blobs.

o       Today's Los Angeles Times reports that the state of
California is now looking to uncashed money orders as a possible
new source of funding to help it with its budget woes. The
failure of two southern California money order forms has resulted
in calls for the state to establish a "money order bailout fund"
so as to protect the mostly-poor clientele of these types of
firms in case other failures occur.

The state budget proposals being considered by Governor Pete
Wilson and the state assembly all contain provisions which would
reduce the length of time that issuers of money orders could hold
onto the money represented by uncashed checks. Currently, the
companies can keep this money for seven years, earning interest
on it, before they have to turn it over to the state. If the
current proposals are adopted, this time period would be reduced
to three years; these plans also would affect travelers checks
and cashiers checks.

Supporters of the proposals claim that this would produce an
immediate "windfall" of $36 million, with a steady annual income
of $8 million. Critics, though, point out that the state is
obliged to find the owners of these uncashed checks and return
the funds to them. Also, all revenues generated by these
proposals would go into the state's general fund, and not into a
special insurance account. Finally, the opponents to these plans
point to the fact that money order companies would increase their
fees to make up for the lost interest income, resulting in a
defacto tax on the state's poor, who make up the biggest users of
money orders.

MORNING UPDATE

The Democrats are whining that Republican attacks against Bill
Clinton's wife are unfair. "You would think that the Democrats
would be bigger than this," states Rush, "but it seems that they
just can't be." After all, liberal women are upset this year
supposedly because "of the way Anita Hill was treated," even
while they insist on equality in all other aspects of life.

When Hillary Clinton's paper trail is even mentioned, much less
attacked, Democrats shout "sleaze" and "dirty campaigning."
Hillary Clinton, though, has made herself a legitimate target by
saying "when you elect him, you get me." If Robert Bork's paper
trail, all the way back to his college days, can be used to
disqualify him, then why shouldn't Hillary's paper trail be used
to examine her views?

It is obvious that Hillary Clinton would have a primary role in
her husband's administration, should he get elected. Thus,
attacks against Hillary are not attacks against a candidate's
wife, but attacks against an integral member of his campaign
staff.

FIRST HOUR

Items

o       Rush has been hearing from people all this week about the
incredibly negative press coverage of the Republican convention,
and Rush has replied that this is nothing new. This subject,
though, is the talk of the convention, and even ABC's Good
Morning America interviewed Rush for a piece on biased news
coverage. Rush didn't see the piece, but he was also on CBS This
Morning today and talked about this with Harry Smith off the air.

A number of people were sufficiently enraged about Peter Jennings
accusation that Buchanan misquoted Hillary Clinton that they
called ABC to complain. One listener sent Rush a fax to relate
that the response he got from ABC was that Jennings stands by his
statement, and that "we at ABC feel Mr. Buchanan took her
comments out of context."

Rush says that this is an amazing admission for supposedly
unbiased reporters to make. If Jennings is a commentator, than
that's one thing, but it's a totally different thing when news
reporters make such statements. An old friend of Rush sent him a
fax complaining that the media's coverage is some of the most
biased, unfair, and undemocratic coverage he's ever seen. He
states that what they are doing is giving a positive spin to the
Gore/Clinton campaign at every opportunity, while putting a
negative slant on anything that Bush and Quayle do.

The friend said that he used to laugh at the "paranoid plot
theorists," but now he has his doubts. He's angry that the
world's most respected leader, George Bush, is being treated in
such a fashion, and he suspects that journalists are venting
their spleen at being wrong about the Gulf War, Anita Hill, and
Clarence Thomas.

Brent Bozell's Media Research Center is chronicling all of the
media's bias, and Robert Lichter is also producing some
incredible statistics that show 78% of the media's coverage about
Clinton is positive, while 78% of their coverage of Bush is
negative. Rush knows that his show has had some impact on this,
but this sort of thing is obvious to anyone who watches the
network news.

o       Rush is being told that his ad for EIB's new Hillary
Clinton movie, "Single White Female," convinced some "seasoned
citizens" in New York that this was a real film. They thus called
a competing radio station to complain. Rush, never one to
exacerbate the situation, therefore decides to replay the
commercial:

<<ominous, scary music starts>>

<<Narrator>> Coming soon to a theater near you . . . the story of
a future too horrible to imagine until now! The most frightening
spectacle to hit this country since the Carter Presidency.
Hillary Clinton seemed simple and unassuming, until she moved
into the White House. Then she became a maniacal, power-hungry
psycho, in "Single White Female."

<<Hillary>> You said the "F-word" - Family values! Go to your
room, Willie!

<<Narrator>> Bill Clinton's advisers tried to shut her up, but
once she moved in, it was all over!

<<Hillary>> Willie, come here! <<whimpering sounds>> Sit!
<<panting sounds>> Now go fetch my paper! Good, Willie!

<<Narrator>> There's a stranger in the house, and she's running
the show!

<<Hillary>> You made a cabinet appointment without asking me?!?
Who's in charge around here?!

<<Narrator>> Hillary Clinton is holding her husband and the
entire country hostage in "Single White Female."

<<Hillary>> Smell the glove, Willie!

<<Narrator>> She's married to Bill Clinton, but she has the
ability to cause more damage than any single woman in history.

<<Hillary>> Now let's see that State of the Union address.

<<Narrator>> This is one nightmare you may not be able to wake up
from. Coming soon from a theater near you!

Rush promises to keep playing that commercial because "we love
it."

o       Returning to the subject of the media, Rush says they are
concentrating on how Hillary Clinton is being "savagely" attacked
by the Republicans. However, it was Hillary herself who in April
said "it's a blue plate special - vote for him, you get me." This
was not that long ago, and in fact you can count the number of
months on one hand.

Rush realizes that his Rio Linda audience will have to use their
hand to count this high, and thus he counts along with them to
find out exactly how many months it is. "One little piggy, two
little piggies, three little piggies, four little piggies - it's
four little piggies ago." Rush warns his audience that he got
only four hours sleep last night because he had to get up at 5
a.m. in order to get to his TV appointments in the Astrodome.

Rush relates that getting into the Astrodome is not easy because
of all of the security surrounding the place. Even though all of
the security people know who Rush is, they still have to go
through their standard procedures before letting him in. Rush, of
course, understands this, and very politely waits for them to do
what they need to do. Once in the Astrodome, though, getting to
your ultimate destination is not easy. If there's no traffic, it
takes about 30 minutes to get from the hotel to one's ultimate
destination in the Astrodome.

o       Rush met with Ed Rollins this morning while waiting to be
interviewed, and they started talking about Ross Perot <<"When
Johnny Comes Marching Home" starts playing>>. Perot has inserted
himself back into the campaign <<music switches to the James Bond
theme>> on the exact day that Bush is going to give his
acceptance speech. This is funny because Perot quit his campaign
on the same day Clinton gave his acceptance speech.

While waiting in the Green Room for CBS, Rush also talked with a
mother about Mary Fisher's heart-tugging speech on AIDS last
night. The mother said that she was very glad that schools are
telling her kids how to buy condoms, and Rush will relate more
about both conversations later.

*BREAK*

Items

o       A sign on the convention floor last night said "Woody
Allen - Bill Clinton's Family Values Adviser."

o       Rush explains that the reason he is not getting any sleep
is not because he is involved in "juicy" activities, but because
he's doing what he needs to do to further his career. He has
scheduled a lot of meetings and other work, and thus doesn't have
much time to socialize. The EIB staff voices their doubts about
this, but Rush points out that he has gone to only one restaurant
for his meals.

Rush, who takes his responsibility to stay on the cutting edge
very seriously, states "we're doing this for you, folks."

*BREAK*

Items

o       Rush says that many people seem to think that the rich
are evil hedonists who have cheated or inherited their wealth.
This is simply not true with the rich, nor is it true that Rush
is just wasting his time in Houston. He, along with many others,
are working hard while in Houston, just like the rich work hard
to get their wealth in the first place.

While talking with George Will, Rush told him that he mentioned
him in his book, specifically how Will once said that he never
has time to simply sit and reflect. He's just too busy trying to
take care of his family, his business, and so forth. Rush now
knows what Will means when he says "what I want out of life is a
good career" - this is why Will doesn't try to get himself onto
the society pages or into the "correct" social circles. Rush
understands this now - there simply is too much to do for him to
waste his time going to all of the parties that are being thrown
in Houston this week.

o       Rush wants his callers today to comment on whether the
convention yesterday was any good, and whether it looked like a
Republican convention to them. The theme was "family values" and
Rush wants to know if this is what came across to the audience.

o       Slick Willie is having budget problems in Arkansas - his
Medicaid funding problems may bankrupt his state. This is
ironically similar to what Dukakis was experiencing during his
1988 race. Clinton wants to "fix" the problem of health care in
America, although it will require raising taxes; however, he
can't even fix health care for his own state, even though he's
been governor there for almost 12 years.

Phone   Roger from Manhattan, NY

Roger liked the convention and thinks that it was a good idea for
the Republicans to have a showcase on family values. Roger is a
Republican, but his anger towards Bush was never as great as many
others; he thinks the media really hasn't been getting out the
word about the proposals that Bush sends to Congress but which
are immediately rejected.

Rush asks if he thinks the convention will help undecided voters
make up their mind. Roger thinks so, especially with people like
Marilyn Quayle who commented that she didn't want to join the
counter-culture. Roger, though, is angry about the editorial cuts
that the NY Times made with Phil Gramm's speech. For example, the
Times didn't print Gramm's list of the 12 proposals that Bush
sent to Congress but which were rejected. They also didn't print
his comments about Clinton's economic plan or about his dismal
record as Governor of Arkansas.

Rush says that NBC cut away from Gramm's speech, which was the
keynote speech of the convention, a few minutes after 11 p.m. so
that they could air the Tonight show on time. NBC, though, claims
that this was a decision made by the news division and that if
Gramm had been saying anything of interest, they would have
stayed with him.

Rush doesn't understand one thing, though - the Tonight show was
supposed to be live this week so that Jay Leno and Paula
Poundstone could comment on the convention. However, because
Buchanan and Reagan went late in their speeches, the Tonight show
scrapped this idea for Monday and repeated a show about Perot.
This makes no sense to Rush - what's wrong with the show going on
a few minutes late?

*BREAK*

Rush will be on the Charlie Rose show tonight to discuss the
convention, and so far Rush is the only scheduled guest. Rush,
though, will not be attending the convention tonight.

Phone   Mildred from Mansfield, AK

Mildred is a first-time Republican who has lost some of her
anger. On Monday night she was trying to watch the speech by the
Governor of Illinois, but since she doesn't have CSPAN she had to
keep flipping through the networks. All of the networks and CNN,
however, switched off from the Governor and went to their floor
reporters.

Rush says that this kind of thing happens all the time because
the networks consider the convention to be primarily
entertainment. This is why CSPAN and its gavel-to-gavel coverage
is such a godsend to so many people. Also, there's been no real
drama in these speeches since it's a given that everyone is going
to support Bush.

Tonight's speeches by Bush and Quayle are the real highlights of
the convention, and since nobody knows what these two men are
going to say, their speeches are the only places where high drama
is expected.

Phone    John from Albuquerque, NM

John thinks the convention is going well, but Bush is going to
have to present a viable economic plan in his speech tonight to
keep the momentum going. Rush wants to know John's opinion about
last night's family values theme, and he holds him over the
break.

*BREAK*

Phone   John from Albuquerque, NM (continued)

John wants to talk about Ross Perot <<James Bond theme music
starts>>, and he marvels at all of the "coincidences" going on.
First, Perot gives his exit speech right before Clinton's
acceptance speech, and now is going to make news before Bush's
speech. John has to wonder how much of Perot's actions are
motivated by a love of country and by his hatred of Bush.

Rush thinks that Perot is mainly pursuing a vendetta against
Bush, motivated by both his sizeable ego and his personal hatred
for the President. He promises to discuss this further, later in
the show.

*BREAK*

SECOND HOUR

Items

o       Rush says his staff is hard at work looking for a new
Slick Willie Update theme - Julio Iglesias singing "To All the
Women I've Loved Before."

o       Japanese economic news may make people rethink their
ideas on having the US emulate the Japanese. Japanese companies
are implementing layoffs, cutbacks, and shutdowns, which are
virtually unheard of in Japan. A recent report indicates that
Japanese companies employ up to 800,000 employees that they don't
need, including women whose sole function is to serve tea to
executives. The Fuji Institute says that this sort of employment
is artificially keeping unemployment down to 2.1% instead of the
more realistic figure of 3.4%. Companies are therefore cutting
back, especially middle management.

Rush compares this to Clinton's own plans to downsize government,
mainly by cutting military jobs. This, though, just takes money
from the Americans currently employed by the military and gives
it to other Americans; it would make more sense to pay the money
to those that the US is now employing, but Clinton refuses to do
this since the military is perceived as such an evil and
unnecessary thing by the liberal Democrats.

American companies are doing this sort of thing as well, and
though it's nothing to celebrate, it is a fact of life in
business across the world. The Japanese moves are especially
interesting as this sort of thing was unknown in Japan until
recently, and Reagan can't be blamed for it like he is being
blamed for America's economic woes.

o       Under pressure from the EIB staff, Rush agrees to play
his new commercial for the "Rush Limbaugh Video Workout",
starring Rush and "Jane Fondle":

<<70s-style "Mod Squad" type music starts playing>>

<<Narrator>> Ronco presents "The Rush Limbaugh Video Workout!"

<<Jane Fondle>> Hello, this is Jane Fondle. Come on, Rush,
workout with me. Are you ready for the workout?

<<Narrator>> Rush and his own personal trainer help you shed
those pounds.

<<Jane, in time with the music>> All right! And left, and left,
and bend left, bend left, never right, never right, and left,
extreme left . . . now lock it! And lock it, and pull your
stomach in, Rush. Come on, come on! Tighten it! Oooh, feel that
burn!

<<Narrator>> The "Rush Limbaugh Video Workout" - just three hours
a day can change your life.

<<Jane>> Come on, Rush, think of curling your pubic bone up
towards your navel. Now, the left, the left, always to the left,
extreme left, never to the right. And squeeze - feel that burn!

<<Narrator>> Rush and Jane help you sweat your way to a better
life.

<<Jane>> Energy now . . . energy, come on - exhale, inhale,
exhale. Press your left ear to your right thigh, bring your head
to the center - quite a view, huh?

<<Narrator>> The Rush Limbaugh Video Workout - now at video
stores everywhere!

<<Jane>> Come on, tighten it! Ooh, feel that burn! Squeeze and
feel that burn, ooh, feel that burn and squeeze it! Squeeze and
feel that burn, ooh, feel that burn and squeeze it!

Rush admits that he is already working on a second Rush Limbaugh
Exercise Video which will have simpler suggestions - get rid of
your remote control for your TV, and get out of your chair and
pop your own popcorn.

Update  Slick Willie         (Johnny Preston, "Charming Billy")

There are two items in this update:

o       Bill Clinton has brought health care to new heights in
Arkansas, and this should show the country just exactly what
Clinton will do when he promises to do for the US what he's done
for Arkansas. Clinton has been Governor of Arkansas for almost 12
years, and the Little Rock bureau of the Associated Press is
reporting that Clinton is trying to hide a "budget mess" in his
home state, much like Dukakis tried to hide Massachusetts' budget
problems in 1988.

Medicaid expenses are currently the major problem of the Arkansas
state budget. Spiraling health costs are forcing the state's
Human Health and Services System to implement reforms in both
health and in the child welfare system. One state legislator,
however, admitted that the state must implement new taxes in
order to fix this problem.

The mainstream media, though, is ignoring this little news item.
Clinton claims he will get medical costs under control if elected
President, yet he's been unable to do this in his own state. How
can he do this for the country as a whole? Clinton says that his
experience as Governor of Arkansas qualifies him for the
Presidency, yet is this the type of experience America needs?

o       The New York Times' front page today quotes Clinton as
saying that the Republicans have been taken over by extremist
right-wingers, and he complains that the GOP is "demonizing"
Hillary Clinton in the same way that Willie Horton was used to
portray Dukakis as someone who was soft on crime.

Rush says that there is no "demonizing" involved - Dukakis was
soft on crime, having personally signed Horton's furlough.
Republicans are simply telling the truth, and once again the
Democrats are whining and complaining that this is "sleazy" and
"unfair." Rush will therefore read some of Hillary Clinton's own
writings after the break, to let her own words speak for
themselves. If Hillary doesn't like what she hears, then she can
disown what she had previously written.

*BREAK*

Rush reads excerpts from a piece Hillary Clinton wrote back in
1979 when she was a young activist; he doesn't want to put on a
hit piece, but he is appalled at how the media reacts when
anything from Hillary's past is mentioned. The NY Times made a
big deal about Reagan mistakenly attributing some quotes from
Lincoln, and ignored what the quotes really meant. Thus, he just
wants to let Hillary's words speak for themselves.

"Decisions about motherhood and abortion, schooling, cosmetic
surgery, treatment of venereal disease, unemployment and others
where the decision or the lack of one will significantly affect
the child's future should not be made unilaterally by parents.
Children should have a right to decide their own future if they
are competent."

"The basic rational for depriving people of rights in a
dependency relationship is that certain individuals are incapable
or undeserving of the right to care for themselves. Along with
the family, past and present examples of such arrangements
include marriage, slavery, and the Indian reservation system."

Thus, Hillary compares the family itself to the institution of
slavery. Rush asks his audience to judge Hillary's comments for
themselves.

*BREAK*

Phone   Dean from Arlington, TX

Dean reports that a local radio station was interviewing a
reporter who had heard that CBS had a recent poll that showed
Clinton's lead had dropped to only 6 points. Rush had heard a
little about this poll from Vin Weber. The poll was done by CBS,
but he doesn't know if it was a regional or national poll. Bo
tells him that it was a national poll, and CBS is faxing a copy
of it to him.

ABC, however, has a poll showing both Clinton and Bush are losing
ground. Dean had heard about the CBS poll yesterday, but the
media is still ignoring it.

Dean also just bought the recent techno-thriller novel by Barrett
Tillman, and was surprised to find a dedication to "Rush
Limbaugh, the most dangerous man alive." Rush hasn't seen this,
but he thanks Tillman for doing such a nice thing.

Rush talked to Ed Rollins yesterday, and the conversation turned
to Perot, whose paperback is coming out today. The book includes
excerpts of Perot's philosophy as well as his position papers.
Rush finds it curious that this book is being released in NYC on
the one day that Bush is making his acceptance speech, and he
asked Rollins if Perot is really trying to sabotage Bush's
campaign.

Rollins said that Perot is on a massive ego-trip, with a
pathological bent against Bush. Perot would never be a candidate
again because he doesn't want the job; however, the real reason
for Perot's actions is that he was totally stunned by the
reaction he got when he withdrew from the Presidential race.

Perot had thought he would be heaped with praise for his courage
in making the attempt, and that he would be thanked effusively
for his aborted candidacy. Perot didn't even conceive of the
possibility that people would be angry, and thus he is trying to
appease those whom he hurt so badly.

Rush was flabbergasted by this revelation because anyone who is
in touch with the real world would have some clue about how
people would react to Perot's sudden withdrawal. This story gives
a clue about how out of touch with the American people Perot
really is.

*BREAK*

Phone   Kelly from Tulsa, OK

Kelly says that the family values night of the convention made
him feel good. He enjoyed watching Barbara Bush speak about
families, and he liked her definition of the family which was
"everybody is family." He thinks it's ridiculous for people to
compare her to Hillary.

Rush says that real family values are going to be impugned and
laughed at, and he hopes that Republicans start defining them.
Kelly says that family values really can't be defined in simple
sentences, as they are just living as part of a family. Rush says
that Barbara Bush was very broad in her definition of a family,
and in particular addressed those women who might be confused as
to what their role in life should be. She told those women to be
confident and don't worry about this or that arbitrary
definition.

Barbara Bush helped show a good contrast between how the
Republicans define family values and how the Democrats define
them. Kelly says that the coverage this morning of President and
Mrs. Bush attending a prayer breakfast this morning was another
good touch. This may have offended some people but those people
will be offended no matter what.

Rush comments that the press is now claiming that Reagan and
Buchanan appeared on the first night of the convention because
Bush was "pandering" to the right-wing, and that he wanted them
to be on Monday so that he could distance himself from them as
far as possible. Yet on the most important day of the convention,
Bush attends a prayer breakfast, which doesn't sound at all like
he is trying to distance himself from "right-wing crazed
fundamentalist wackos."

Kelly was also enthused by Jack Kemp's speech, but he wonders why
Rush hasn't mentioned how great this speech really was. Rush says
that he has tried to avoid commenting on the speeches since he
assumes that most of his listeners are interested enough to have
watched the speeches themselves. Also, Rush is being buried by
news items and other things to talk about.

People, though, are able to recognize how great Kemp's speech
really was, and they aren't going to listen to the media's
negative spin on it. Rush did like what Kemp had to say,
especially as he directly addressed the issues and faced the
Democrats head-on. However, in spite of the fact that the
convention has been full of terrific speakers, the bottom line is
that Bush will have to say these same things tonight. The entire
convention is about George Bush, and everything that has happened
in the Astrodome is leading up to Bush's speech tonight. What he
has to say, and how he says it will be of the utmost importance.

*BREAK*

Rush promises to describe the talk he had with the mother of two
grown children who was ecstatic that schools were teaching them
about condoms. He also will talk about the "near scene" that
almost erupted during a reception for his upcoming TV show.

*BREAK*

THIRD HOUR

Rush admits that he has been watching the news and has been
seeing the media bias that has been occurring, although he didn't
realize just how bad the bias really was. Rush has been doing the
media's job for them (i.e. telling the truth), in addition to his
regular analysis of various aspects of the Gore/Clinton campaign.
However, to counter-balance the extreme bias of the media Rush
has concentrated his efforts in exposing the flaws of the
Gore/Clinton ticket.

This, though, has started to bother him - after only four days of
trying to present a decidedly pro-Republican, anti-Democrat view
of things, he is starting to get "squeamish." Yet the dominant
media has been doing this same sort of thing in supporting
Clinton for weeks, without apparently even being aware of their
own bias.

Rush doesn't want to bash anyone, but simply to get the truth out
about things, since the media is not doing its job. He is amazed,
though, at how unaffected the media is about their bias. Rush is
biased, but he is not a reporter; he is also not unfair, and he
does not make up or distort his sources. In any case, Rush admits
that he underestimated the extent of the media's bias, and that
his various callers this week who brought this subject up had
every right to be concerned.

While he was waiting for his appearance on CBS This Morning, he
talked with a mother of two kids, 21 and 18. They began
discussing Mary Fisher's speech on AIDS, and eventually ended up
talking about condom distribution in schools. The woman said that
she was very happy that her kids' school forced them to go to a
drug store and buy condoms, because she felt that her children
needed to know where to buy them.

Rush tried to avoid this subject, since the woman was looking at
it from such a personal view, but she insisted. Thus, Rush told
her that he didn't think condoms were the best way to fight AIDS.
He pointed out the condom failure rate, and said the worst aspect
of condom distribution is that giving out condoms to kids is
sanctioning the behavior.

Los Angeles schools have found that sex education results in
increased sexual activity among students. When condoms were
distributed at Adams High School in Colorado, the teenage
pregnancy rate went up so quickly that the school had to open a
day-care center. The woman dismissed these examples, and so Rush
asked her whether Magic Johnson would be willing to have sex with
a groupie if he knew she had AIDS. Even if Magic had a condom,
would he still have sex with this AIDS-infected woman?

The mother said that Magic would be a fool to do this, and Rush
pointed out that this is exactly what people are doing by giving
condoms to kids. Students have no way of knowing who does or does
not have AIDS, and thus sanctioning their sexual activity is
encouraging them to take this risk.

The mother then said that abstinence should be taught, and Rush
agreed that this is important. However, the most important aspect
of sex is love - without love, sex denigrates into promiscuity,
which is how AIDS is spread. Rush doesn't know if he changed the
woman's mind, but the Magic Johnson example does make people stop
and think.

On the Capitol Gang last night Robert Novak said that it was a
mistake for the Republicans to have Mary Fisher speak. He said
that having her on the stage was making the GOP look like the
Democrats, and Al Hunt replied that some things were more
important than politics.

During the discussion Rush was having in the Green Room at CBS,
somebody pointed out that having Fisher on stage wouldn't bring
anyone over from the Democratic party. Another person, though,
stated that she needed to be on the stage so as to force
Republicans to think about this issue.

Rush was at a reception thrown by his Houston TV affiliate, and
he wishes that he had time to eat some of the food that was
there. He explains that he talks so much at these types of
gatherings that if he were to eat, he would spray food on
people's lapels. While he was meeting people who worked at the
station, one woman collared him and started ranting about Bush
and Quayle.

The woman's husband immediately left, leaving Rush alone to deal
with her. Rush therefore told her that he didn't have any bones
to pick with her, nor did he have any desire to impose his
beliefs on her. The woman then warmed up to Rush, and they
started having a civil discussion about abortion. Rush points out
that Republicans are typically accused of starting fights, but as
he showed in this situation, they far more often solve problems
instead of creating them.

*BREAK*

Phone   Cathy from Germantown, TN

Cathy watched the convention last night, and thinks that the
Republicans did a good job discussing family values. She in
particular liked seeing the Bush family together on stage. Rush
recalls that the Bush family did the same thing in 1988, long
before family values became a hot political issue.

He remembers that when he visited the White House, he was
impressed at how genuinely close-knit the Bush family is. It is
not an artificial family that was created for political reasons.
During the 1988 campaign Rush made the observation that the Bush
family was a great looking family.

The family image has always been important in politics because it
is one of the most important, if not most important aspect of
one's life. People feel comfortable when they see that their
leaders have a solid family unit. Rush knows he hasn't let Cathy
do much of the talking and so he holds her over the break.

*BREAK*

Phone   Cathy from Germantown, TN (continued)

 Cathy has a 10-year old son who is in the fifth-grade but
listens to Rush's show religiously when he's not in school. This
helps Cathy talk with her son about important topics because he
hears about them on Rush's show.

For example, Rush last year was talking about abortion and the
pro-choice claim that it's better to abort some babies than to
have them live in poverty. Cathy thus thinks that Rush has helped
her to teach her son about family values; she now can have
conversations with her son instead of simply lecturing him.

Also, her son will ask Cathy about things he hears on Rush's
show, which inspires conversation. Rush is moved by this call and
thanks Cathy for taking the time to call him and tell him this.

Rush says that some people think that the Republicans "really
blew it" last night with their family values theme because they
"looked like Democrats." Some critics say that last night was the
GOP's attempt to be a guest on the Sally Jesse Raphael show.

Rush doesn't agree with this, but some of these critics were
Republicans who are working hard for the party. They then started
talking about how the convention is being marketed and presented
to the American viewer.

Most Americans seem to think that America is having bad economic
troubles, even though they themselves and their neighborhoods are
both doing okay. They don't know too many people that are in
economic pain, but they are convinced that there must be
someplace in America where things are really bad.

This is true, but only to a point - it's bad in some places, but
it's not as bad as people are trying to claim. The inner cities
and ghettos have always been bad, so this is nothing new.
However, the Democrats are claiming that the economy is at a new
low, from which it might not recover, ever.

So, given that things are not as bad as people think they are,
what is the job of the Republican convention? Is it to put forth
speakers that reinforce the negativism and ignore the reality?
Rush is frustrated because nobody at the convention has yet said
"hey, this is America, and I don't think we all have to suffer."

Reagan did a little bit of this, by pointing out that America is
still strong, with the highest standard of the living in the
world. The crowd responded with wild cheers. Critics told Rush,
though, that the GOP couldn't do this because it would conflict
with the public's perception.

Rush, though, doesn't know why the party can't provide some
leadership by telling the people how good things are. He is
fascinated, though, by the way this convention is being marketed
and the perception that Republicans have to bow to people's
perceptions instead of the reality.

Rush bets that Bush's speech tonight will contain some strong,
new economic plans; perhaps a tax cut, although this is unlikely.
Bush certainly, though, is not going to make tax increases his
primary proposal as the Democrats have. What Bush has to say
tonight will be the direction that his campaign will take.

*BREAK*

Phone   Steve from Bowling Green, OH

Steve is celebrating his birthday by calling into Rush's show,
and he wants to ask Rush "why didn't you tell us that Bill
Bennett was so darn cool?" Rush answers that Steve should have
assumed this since Bennett likes Rush and hangs around with him.

Steve was struck, though, by how nobody has presented Bennett as
the intellectual giant that he is. Rush says that Bennett has
been all over the media as a commentator this week, and he is
well-known as an non-elitist intellectual.

Bill Bennett is a regular guy who goes hiking and hunting with
his kids. He plays football every Sunday afternoon with a
Washington, DC football team. "He's a shirts and skins kind of
guy," Rush states.

This is why Bennett has never wavered from his support of the
President - he's part of Bush's team and wouldn't abandon it to
play for the "other team." Rush saw Bennett last night and got a
chance to read his speech in advance. He was impressed with his
speech, but saddened that Bennett wasn't scheduled to speak in
prime time.

Bennett, though, does have a high profile in political circles.
When Rush visited the White House, President Bush asked him about
why Bill Bennett was distressed. Rush replied that Bennett wants
to help Bush so much, but he feels that his advice is being
ignored.

A lot of people want to vote for Bush, but they just have a
problem looking past the betrayal of the "no new taxes" pledge.
However, they'd love a reason to vote for Bush, and this somewhat
explains Bennett's reluctance to join Bush's campaign.

Bennett, though, is a rising star, and has a strong political
future.

*BREAK*

Phone   Eve from Van Nuys, CA

Eve praises Bennett's speech as profoundly moving, and she hopes
she has a chance to vote for him in 1996. In particular, she
liked Bennett's statement that "education is the architecture of
the soul" with "morality rooted in religion."

Eve thinks Bennett needs to be out speaking more than he is doing
now. She just read his book "The Devaluing of America," and she
thinks it should be required reading for Americans. Eve can
understand why Rush likes Bennett, who is a brilliant man.

Rush says that Bennett is also a deeply caring man, as well. Rush
promises to relate tomorrow the story Bennett tells about when
his son John shot his first bird.

-- 
John Switzer               | "Don't mess with me, man!
                           | I'm a higher mammal!"
74076.1250@Compuserve.com  | 
jrs@netcom.com             | 
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh