From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Subject: Summary Wed 9/9/92
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 21:26:40 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Summary: Unofficial Summary for Wednesday, September 9, 1992
Distribution: world,usa,na,alt
Keywords: Unofficial Summary Rush Limbaugh

Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show

for Wednesday, September 9, 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. This summary is distributed on CompuServe
and the Internet; 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.

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

September 9, 1992

MORNING UPDATE

The Senate has passed its family leave bill and the House is
expected to do likewise shortly. The bill would require
businesses that have more than 50 employees to provide workers
with 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a number of situations, such as
the birth of a child. Although this leave is unpaid, the employer
must still provide all employee benefits such as health
insurance.

Bush is expected to veto this bill, since he has already vetoed a
similar bill. Rush says that Bush should veto this bill, and he
reminds us that earlier this year he predicted that the
Democratic Congress would craft legislation that they knew Bush
would veto. This way they could take the veto and use it as a
political weapon, telling their constituents that they tried to
help them, but the mean, old President shot their efforts down.

This family leave, though, is just another hidden tax, like those
that Bill Clinton seems to like so much. Like Clinton's economic
plan, this bill would only hurt small businesses, and result in
the elimination of jobs. Rush also finds it interesting that Al
Gore and the rest of the Democrats are trying to define "family
values" as family leave. This is absurd - the family leave bill
is nothing more than a bigger government and more socialist
government, and it's wrong.

FIRST HOUR

Items

o       Rush is in a "mixed mood" because he has just read two
articles - one has "tremendous news" and the other is "a piece of
garbage." The "garbage" is in a local NY "rag"; for an opinion on
Rush's TV show the reporter talked to someone Rush hasn't seen
for 20 years. This "expert" claims Rush will fail miserably even
though he hasn't talked to Rush for decades.

o       EIB is being inundated by faxes and mail on Rush's
upcoming TV show and on his new book, "The Way Things Ought to
Be." Rush's book is already number 1 at Waldenbooks and has even
outsold Stephen King's novel there last week. Thus, the book will
make the NY Times Best Seller List if the paper has the courage
to put Rush's book where it belongs.

Rush, though, is being told stories of "snooty sales personnel"
who do everything they can to discourage the sale of his book,
yet this tome is still climbing its way onto the best seller
lists over the bodies of these nay sayers. Rush is also being
contacted by people who think bookstores are trying to hide the
book by claiming it's not out yet. However, the book is not
supposed to be released nationwide until tomorrow, and there will
be some delays before it hits all stores nationwide.

Thus, listeners shouldn't be concerned if their local store
doesn't have the book yet, and there is no conspiracy to hide it
from the populace. Granted some stores may not sell Rush's book
at all, but the fact remains Rush's book is already on a best-
selling list, and even has re-orders. Santa Barbara seems to be a
trouble spot, though <<No! tell me it's not true! The horror, the
horror!>>, but Rush encourages his listeners to be patient and to
persevere.

Rush has been asked not to divulge the number of copies printed,
but he is confident that those who want to find the book will be
able to do so. Rush thanks everyone who has written him with
their nice and complimentary remarks on his first book. He is
flattered and awed by these comments.

o       Rush is also being inundated by people who are upset
about the time his TV show will be aired on their local station.
The San Antonio affiliate, for example, is airing the show at 1
o'clock in the morning. Local listeners are claiming that this is
a liberal plot, but Rush discourages this type of thinking.

First, Rush has always intended his show to be a late-night show,
and EIB has fought for the best time slots that they can get.
This has not been an easy battle, and Rush has been reminded of
the struggles he had in the early days of his radio show. People
claimed that Rush would not be accepted as a host of a three-hour
show, and that affiliates would not be willing to give up three
of the best hours during their broadcast day. In addition, Rush's
show would be so controversial it wouldn't get any advertisers.
Even when Rush started to succeeded, he was assailed by those who
thought he was just a "flash-in-the-pan."

However, Rush has produced the most listened-to long-form radio
show since the invention of television. Rush would have thought
that people might cut him some slack on his TV show, given the
success he has had in radio. However, people are still
criticizing his TV show, and his success in radio seems not to
matter a hill of beans.

Rush won't have guests, won't have advertisers, won't last more
than a few weeks, etc. etc. Rush is frustrated by hearing these
same criticisms after four years, yet "there is something good in
having to prove yourself anew day after day." This kind of
pressure prevents one from resting on their laurels and
encourages continual hard work.

Thus, even if Rush's TV show is airing at 1 a.m., this was the
best slot EIB could get, given that Rush hasn't yet proven
himself on TV. Station managers are telling customers that they
don't expect Rush to make it on TV, "but on the outside chance it
does, we'll move it earlier." Rush and his EIB fellows chuckle at
this attitude because they've seen it all before.

Thus, there is no conspiracy - the fact is that once again people
are underestimating Rush. However, even liberals like money and
once Rush makes it in TV, as he's made it on radio, people will
come around. Rush is confident, though, that in 20 years, when he
has 90 million listeners and viewers on radio and TV, he will
still have critics claiming he is not going to make it in the
"long term."

Thus, life isn't fair, and obstacles must be overcome by
excellence, not a drive towards "fairness." So Rush encourages
his audience to "chill out, lighten up, and we'll conquer
together."

*BREAK*

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

Rush recalls how Clinton was originally in favor of the North
American Free Trade Agreement but after becoming a Presidential
candidate he decided he had to "read the fine print." Richard
Gephardt claims that NAFTA "won't fly in any shape or form," yet
NAFTA does a lot of what Clinton claims he wants to do. Now,
though, Clinton is backtracking on his support of NAFTA, which is
exactly what the Democratic liberal leadership wants him to do.

Bush is being attacked by liberals for his support of NAFTA. For
example, Senator Lloyd Bentsen says "it's pure politics" what
Bush is doing about NAFTA. Rush says that this is exactly right -
Bush is pointing out that although Clinton is claiming to have
moved to the center, the rest of the liberal Democratic power
structure is still firmly on the left. Thus, liberalism will
continue to be the guiding light in the Democratic party,
regardless of whether Clinton is elected as President.

*BREAK*

Rush is doing an interview of William F. Buckley for the November
issue of the Limbaugh Letter. Rush points out that the
newsletter's staff is putting itself on the line by making their
predictions for the election.

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

Continuing on with the previous segment's update, Rush knows he
has said time and time again that it is a fallacy that Clinton,
Gore, and the Democratic party have moved to the center. Bush's
best chance for victory in November is to prove the liberalism of
Clinton and Gore.

NAFTA is one of Bush's best issues on which to do this. The
Democrats are even now whining about NAFTA, and when Democrats
whine it means that liberalism is being threatened. However, Rush
wants to assume for the sake of argument that Slick Willie has
the answers for all of America's problems right now. Next, he
assumes that George Bush adopts each of Clinton's plans and ideas
today. Even if Clinton's economic plan was the exact solution for
America's economy, could Bush get the liberal Congress to pass
this plan and its solutions?

Would Tom Foley and George Mitchell support Bush's proposals?
Would they support even one? The answer, of course, is no -
Congress doesn't want to help the people; all they want is a
Democrat in the White House. Congress is interested only in
usurping executive power and denying any victories to the
President.

Now assume Clinton is President and his solutions for the
country's problems are flawless - would Congress pass his
policies now? Would Congress pass even one of Clinton's
proposals? Government gridlock is not caused by the occupant of
the White House but by those who work on Capitol Hill.

Phone   Steve from Cleveland, OH

Steve doesn't think Rush's use of the term "Colonel Wilhelm von
Slick Willie" is fair to those who have worked hard in the
military. "Anyone could get elected to public office, but it
takes a lot of hard work to become a colonel," Steve says. This
is even worse given that most military people consider Clinton to
be a draft dodger, and thus don't want any connection with him at
all.

Rush says that this is a very good point that he hadn't thought
of. Rush apologizes to his listeners in the military and says
that from now on he will refer to Clinton as "Baron Wilhelm von
Slick Willie."

Steve has reminded Rush, though, of some other Democratic dodgers
- Clinton is a draft dodger, Mario Cuomo is a Presidential dodger
(since he continually dodges the Presidential race), and Mayor
David Dinkins is a tax dodger. Dinkins didn't pay his taxes for
four years, but since Dinkins "forgot" and since it was only an
"accounting error," Dinkins didn't have to go to jail like anyone
else would have.

*BREAK*

Johnny Donovan, "an old-time radio pig," has a collection of
radio tapes dating back to the very beginnings of the industry.
As he dug through his archives recently, Donovan found an amazing
tape which Rush plays:

"Tomorrow afternoon on most of these same stations World News
with Robert Trout. This is Clarence Cassels speaking. And
remember from now to November, you'll find intense and impartial
campaign coverage on the CBS radio network."

Rush points out the phrase "impartial campaign coverage." He
finds it amazing that CBS had to point out that its coverage was
going to be "intense and impartial." Rush tries to imagine a
promo like this being done today, and he wonders why CBS had to
make such an announcement back in the 50s? Were there assumptions
that news coverage wasn't impartial, or was such impartiality
just the norm back then and CBS was reminding its listeners of
its standards?

Rush points out that a lot of stuff was aired during the 50s
which wouldn't be aired today. For example, "I Love Lucy" would
not be easy to produce today. Rush thinks about this for a moment
and says that there is a sitcom which tries to do this, but he
refuses to name it because he doesn't want to insult the memory
of Lucille Ball.

*BREAK*

The September 7th edition of the SF Chronicle has a column by
Deborah Saunders about a great game for car trips - "Politically
Incorrect Fair." You make up a county fair with the sorts of
rides and entertainments that would drive the politically correct
crowd out of their minds. Rush promises more later.

Phone   Mike from Kankakee, IL

Mike hopes that Rush isn't discouraged and resigned to the fact
that Bush will lose in November. Rush says that what discourages
him is that the media is no longer just reporting the polls, but
is now making news with its own polls. Also, every headline in
one the NY papers yesterday was either pro-Clinton or anti-Bush.
The media is manufacturing its own news by commissioning polls,
and then it puts a pro-Clinton slant on its coverage of these
polls.

Rush, though, says he is not resigned to a Bush loss. In fact,
Rush is convinced that Clinton's liberalism will be exposed,
resulting in a Bush victory in November by 6 to 8 points. Clinton
has been very active recently, though, and Rush doesn't think
that Bush has a slam-dunk waiting for him. However, even the
pollsters are reporting that the gap is narrowing, and Rush is
certain that Clinton will continue to be harmed by the character
issue.

Also, many people are telling Rush that in the first week of
October "the little general from Dallas" will try to score a
Texas victory so that he can steal his state's electoral votes
and thereby mess things up. Thus, the election is not said and
done by a long shot.



*BREAK*

SECOND HOUR

Items

o       Rush reads Deborah Saunder's column on the "Politically
Incorrect Fair" game which appeared in the September 7th edition
of the SF Chronicle. The purpose of the game is to construct an
event that would so enrage liberals that right-thinking
conservatives might actually put on the event, just to watch the
liberals explode. For example, a proper politically incorrect
county fair could be organized as follows:

-       The fair would be held in People's Park, Berkeley. It
would take over the entire park, except for the volleyball
courts, which as any good liberal knows were built solely to run
the homeless out of the park.

-       The opening ceremonies would be held next to a Nativity
scene that was built by public school children, and the
ceremonies would be opened with a prayer and the Pledge of
Allegiance.

-       Exhibitions would include the "endangered species petting
zoo," a real fur salon, and sexual harassment booth. A shooting
gallery would give children the opportunity to pick off Spotted
Owls either by shooting them with AK-47s or by chopping down
their trees with chainsaws.

-       The only beverages sold at the fair would be tap water,
caffeinated sodas, and Coors. Drinks would be served in styrofoam
cups only.

-       Red meat would be barbecued on fires made up of lighter
fluid and old growth redwood chips.

-       Any food currently under boycott, such as grapes and
lettuce, would be sold at half price. The only possible exception
would be broccoli, which would always be banned.

-       The restrooms would be labelled "men" and "girls".

-       Senior citizens would have to pay double admission, while
those who had patriotic tattoos or who drive trucks with gun
racks would get in free.

-       The bumper cars would be powered by diesel fuel.

-       The best-selling political buttons would be
"Bush/Quayle."

-       Culture would be provided by "The Woody Allen Tribute
True Love Film Festival." Movies including Mia Farrow, though,
would be excluded since she refuses to accept Allen's
relationship with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi.

-       The winner of the Miss Politically Incorrect beauty
contest would be awarded the plastic surgery of her boyfriend's
choice.

-       Adults would have to buy their own condoms - no freebies!

-       Family events would include the log-rolling contest;
however, families participating in this event would first have to
chop down a tree together.

-       The fair would be outdoors, but the promoters would still
provide air-conditioners for the environment.

-       The fair's loudspeakers would broadcast the Rush Limbaugh
show, interspersed with patriotic songs.

-       The dunking booth would soak a teacher.

-       An aerosol manufacturer would sponsor a parade with the
theme "A Salute to Texas - the Big Hair State."

-       All merchants at the fair would be required to make a
profit.

o       Mike Elder of KTOK radio in Oklahoma City writes that his
city is opening four Rush Rooms. Actually, only three of these
new Rush Rooms are in Oklahoma City; the fourth is in nearby
Norman, home of Anita Hill. Rush promises to read some of the
menu items for these Rush Rooms later.

Rush has already suggested to his TV affiliate in Oklahoma City,
Channel 4, that they should take a video crew to film what
happens in a typical Rush Room. Rush will then show the video on
his show to demonstrate the conviviality and good humor that
exists in such a dining establishment.

o       An "idiot" in Norman wrote a letter to the editor of the
Norman Transcript, and Rush decides to read only the highlights.
The man is upset that the station that carries Rush's radio show
has dropped Larry King, and thus there is "no balance." Rush
tells him that the issue is not balance, but getting an audience,
and his affiliate may now get a bigger one.

The idiot also claims Rush calls Anita Hill a "nazi - that is,
feminazi." Rush grants that he may have called Hill a feminazi,
but never nazi. The idiot also claims Rush called Bill Clinton a
"slime" and a "slimebag," and that Rush believes Martin Luther
King, Jr. was unprincipled and does not deserve his own holiday.
Rush marvels at how people can misconstrue so much of what he
actually says and how they even make stuff like this up.

The idiot also states that Rush "chuckled with delight" when it
was suggested that Martin Luther King Day should be called
"Buckwheat Day." Rush recalls that he reported the fool of a
politician who made this remark, and he says that it is a funny
thing to laugh at, but he has never agreed with such idiocy.

Rush is also accused of deliberately mispronouncing Mario Cuomo's
name, "implying that people named Mario have no place in American
politics." Rush is stunned by the sheer stupidity of this
comment, and he refers to New York's governor as "Coo-mo" because
this is how Jesse Jackson says the name. There are many good
reasons why Cuomo should not be involved in American politics,
but his first name certainly isn't one of them.

"But perhaps most disgusting of all," writes the idiot letter
writer, "is Limbaugh's recent reporting of Woody Allen's alleged
crimes." Supposedly Rush accused the Democrats of "encouraging"
such misconduct. Rush again corrects the idiot by pointing out
that he never said Democrats encourage such behavior, but only
that they set the stage for it with their liberal attitude of
permissiveness and their habit of discounting the importance of
character. If anything, Rush came to Allen's defense by pointing
out how men are automatically assumed guilty if they are ever
accused of sexual harassment or child molesting.

The letter writer concludes that "this, after all, is an election
year and it doesn't seem fair for KTOK to let Limbaugh spend more
than 15 hours a week spewing forth his one-sided, raunchy,
right-wing hate message. Now is the time to speak out." Rush
tells this fool that his show does not need to be balanced by
equal time because he and his show are, at best, a futile stab at
equal time.

Rush's show is on the air 15 hours out of 168 hours each week,
plus whatever hours his "Best of Rush" shows are broadcast on the
weekends. Yet, this fool thinks Rush is overbalancing the radio
station. Rush encourages his listeners to lighten up, stop being
wound so tight, and maybe even listen to what he actually says.

o       Andre Agassi and Barbara Streisand may be in love. Rush
wonders if Agassi is even 21 yet, while Streisand is close to 50.
Granted, Agassi is a "hairy beast," but Rush wonders how society
would view a 50 year old man with a 20 year old women (e.g. Woody
Allen and Soon-Yi).

*BREAK*

Phone   Joe from Livermore, CA

Joe was looking for Rush's book yesterday and finally found it in
Crown Books. His main problem, though, was that a lot of stores
were sold out; he managed to get the second-to-last one at Crown.
The bookstore clerk, though, said "I can't believe this book is
selling so good - he's such a fool."

Rush wonders just how many other books these salesclerks say this
sort of thing about; do they say such things about Madonna's X-
rated book, or Gore's book, or Perot's book? It's incredible that
in a recessionary economy clerks would say such things to
discourage their customers. Rush comments that "success is the
sweetest revenge" and this is what is particularly "goring" to
liberals.

Rush again tells his listeners, though, not to worry about
conspiracies keeping the book from them. The book is selling out
all over, and some stores are even re-ordering. Some stores won't
get the book, though, until tomorrow. Rush adds that "this book
has stunned the people in the publishing business - stunned."

Phone   Nick from Orlando, FL

Nick also encourages Rush not to be discouraged about the polls,
especially as the polls have been wrong time and time again. For
example, Jimmy Carter was ahead in the polls for most of the 1980
campaign. Rush agrees - polls can be skewed, especially when they
are being conducted for the sole purpose of making news. Rush
holds Nick through the break.

*BREAK*

Phone   Nick from Orlando, FL (continued)

Nick points out that people simply aren't remembering what it was
like under the last Democratic President - Carter abandoned Iran
and the Panama Canal, gave the country double digit inflation,
double digit inflation rates, and double digit unemployment.
That's why in November, 1980 Carter was ousted by an
unprecedented public mandate.

Rush says that it is a crime what the Democrats are being allowed
to say - they demand an end to supply-side economics because
America needs jobs, yet supply-side policies are what created
millions of jobs during the 80s. Nick thinks that a Clinton
Presidency would result in a giant step backwards into another
Carter era.

Rush says that it's transparent that when Clinton says he wants
to invest, he's actually saying "tax and spend." However, where
is Clinton going to get this money? He says that he'll tax the
rich, but it's small business that will be hit the hardest.
Clinton wants to spend this money on roads, bridges and such so
as to create jobs, yet how are roads built today? They won't be
built by men with axes and picks as was done during the 30s; it
will be union employees being paid union salaries who will get
this work. Clinton is not going to create any jobs for the
average American worker this way.

Clinton wants to tax the rich and use that money to expand the
government, all in the cause of "fairness," "equality," or
whatever. However, the rich, or for that matter anyone who has
money, undoubtedly have already invested their own money. So
Clinton is going to take that money from them and "invest" it
himself. How are Clinton's "investments" going to be better than
these already existing investments?

The real crime in this is that if Clinton succeeds it will be
because he has exploited the politics of class envy so much that
he's convinced people that it's better to have the government
spend their own money to create jobs, than to have the private
sector spend its money itself to create jobs.

This should demonstrate Clinton's utter ignorance about how the
private sector works, and this ignorance is directly related to
the fact that Clinton has never had a job in the private sector.
He has never had to learn first hand what it takes to make a
business a success. Thus, Clinton wants to take money out of the
private sector - out of the hands of workers - and "invest" it.
Exactly what is going to happen to this money? How is he going to
spend it?

Nick says that the government manages to siphon off the majority
of the money it collects through its own bureaucracies before it
ever gets to its ultimate destination. This is in contrast to the
private sector, which understands the importance of being
efficient in money matters. Rush agrees, and says that he is
appalled that Clinton is allowed to get away with this deception.
Nobody ever challenges him and asks him why it is better for the
government to take money out of the private sector.

Clinton undoubtedly would answer that the private sector is
"unfair," which is only more of the Democratic party's attempts
to guarantee "equality of result." This whole discussion about
"fairness" is worthless as none of it will help the country or
the economy. Yet even though Clinton represents nothing more than
the same old, liberal, big government and "socialism on the
march," he is getting away with cloaking himself in the shroud of
a moderate.

Phone   Dan from Washington, DC

Dan heard on the news last night that Clinton's $180 billion tax
increase will be offset by $90 to $110 billion in tax reductions.
Thus, according to the news reports, the Republicans are being
"unfair" in accusing Clinton of raising taxes by $180 billion
since the actual figure will be "only" $80 billion or so.

Rush would love it if someone would show him where Clinton plans
to cut taxes by $100 billion? Clinton was talking about a middle
class tax cut during the primaries, but he's backtracked on this
idea totally. Rush laughs at the phrase "only $80 billion" in tax
increases, and adds that this is the kind of smoke and mirrors
gimmickry that the Democrats are famous for.

This is why Rush hopes Bush gets off the "128 tax increases"
figure and starts targeting Clinton's attitude - he and his
cronies can't wait to implement more tax increases and more
socialism. Socialism is failing all over the world, and most
recently it failed miserably in the tax increases of the 1990
Budget Deal and in the California 1991 budget deal. Yet Democrats
are chomping at the bit to do this all over again.

Clinton and Gore pretend to be moderates, yet Gore in particular
is an extremist who considers the automobile to be the greatest
danger than man has ever faced. Rush, though, thinks that more
people realize the true nature of Gore/Clinton than the polls
really indicate.

*BREAK*

Phone   Christopher from Hollywood, CA

Christopher says that Hollywood does have some intelligent life
in it. He asks if Clinton really wants to tax the upper 2%, just
how many Americans are employed by this upper 2%? Rush says that
this is the point - the Democrats, going all the way back to FDR,
have used the politics of class envy for their benefit. There's a
natural resentment towards the rich, and the Democrats have been
more than willing to exacerbate these tensions so as to achieve
their political goals.

This is like the salesclerks who insult purchasers of Rush's
book; those clerks are working at the store so that it will make
money for its owners, yet they are actually discouraging people
from buying certain books. That sort of employee obviously
doesn't care if the store makes a profit, but should they be laid
off, they will undoubtedly blame their plight on the "uncaring
rich."

The Democrats have conned these people into believing that
punishing the rich will make everything okay, yet all it will do
is worsen their own economic situation. Rush thinks that one of
the reasons the Democrats have been so successful in using this
tactic is because of the current recession.

Christopher saw Tom Brokaw a couple of nights ago when he had
Clinton on as a guest. Clinton claimed he had 8 Nobel Prize-
winning economists who supported his economic plan. Rush says
that economists who win the Nobel Prize are usually the most out
of touch human beings on the face of the planet; John Kenneth
Galbraith was such a man, and Rush bets that Galbraith taught
Marx everything he knew about economics.

Christopher was bothered by how Clinton claimed that his economic
program would work "because it's got to work - it's worked in
other countries." Christopher wonders what countries Clinton is
getting his economic theories from - the Soviet Union, Communist
China, or where? America is the premiere country in the world,
and it is the leader of the world; just what other country could
supply a workable plan for the US? Nobody even asked Clinton
about this.

Rush says that there is no other country that can serve as a
model for the US. Where on Earth is the country that is so much
better than the US that it can teach us how things are done?
Where is this utopia? Bo Snerdley answers "Greenwich Village" and
Rush sneers his employee into silence.

Rush wonders how many people feel that confident when they hear
Clinton to say "my economic plan's got to work - it's worked in
other countries." Rush saw Sally Jesse Raphael on Arsenio Hall
last night, and the two of them were commiserating about how
they've been through a bad year. Sally asked Arsenio if he was
worried about competition from Whoopi Goldberg, and Arsenio said
"no - I don't worry about Whoopi - the good Lord will take care
of her, nobody can take it away from her."

Arsenio's confidence in the future is about as well-founded as
Clinton's, but Rush wonders if Dennis Miller shares Arsenio's
philosophy. "My gut seldom fails me," states Rush, who promptly
changes his statement to "my instincts seldom fail me." In any
case, people are "getting their lights turned on about Slick
Willie."

*BREAK*

Phone   John from Houston, TX

John saw Harry Truman's daughter on TV this morning, and Rush
bets that she said "George Bush is no Truman." John says that she
also said that Clinton could compare himself to Truman "because
he's a Democrat." Rush is not surprised, but says that he could
spend an entire show on the differences between Harry Truman and
Slick Willie.

Rush asks if anyone believes Slick Willie would have used the
atomic bomb on Japan in 1945 - this guy by his own admission
"loathes" the military. If war breaks out in 1994, how can
Clinton get the troops to go to war? If the soldiers say that
they won't go to war because they don't support the policy, what
will Clinton say - "yes, I know how you feel. I did the same
thing."

Bush, though, can make a number of accurate comparisons to
Truman, including the fact that he's trailing and is not being
given the slightest chance of success, just like Truman in 1948.
Slick Willie, though, is no Harry Truman - "he's not even close."

*BREAK*

THIRD HOUR

Major league baseball is perceived to be in a sudden crisis, now
that Fay Vincent has resigned as commissioner. Stu Crane, VP of
Sales at EIB, once told Rush that his two young kids really don't
have much interest in baseball. Rush has also noticed how kids
today aren't as excited by baseball as he was when he was a
crumb-cruncher. When they were kids, Rush and his friends dreamed
about having some sort of job on a major league baseball team.

Rush is surprised by how many baseball diamonds he passes now
which are completely deserted. When he was a kid, you couldn't
play on a diamond unless you were part of some sort of Little
League team. Rush therefore is wondering why this aspect of
American life has changed.

One reason is certainly that major league players are no longer
loyal to a particular team or city; they have become pure
capitalists. This is fine, of course, but still it is a change in
the way the game is played and perceived by the fans. The other
side of this is that bigger salaries have also made baseball
players bigger stars, and audiences have soared.

Baseball is seen everywhere on television, including on Pay-for-
View, and Rush wonders if part of the problem is that there are
too many games being shown. Some critics think the game has
become too much of a TV sport, reducing the enjoyment of fans
both at home and in the stadium. Viewership is therefore
declining, and television contracts will be less favorable to
teams in the future. However, owners are now paying millionaire
salaries, which they originally expected would be paid for by
rising TV revenues.

A column in the NY Post gives an accurate portrayal of how many
people perceive baseball - "I'm not sure if baseball is even a
game anymore. It's lawsuits, it's winter meetings, it's lockouts,
it's card shows, it's paying for autographs, it's arbitration,
it's labor talks. Yes, all these things that cultivate a healthy
fan base."

It's human nature that when players sign a big long-term
contract, they relax a bit and don't play as hard. Why should
they? They have their money, they have their security. They
aren't as hungry as they used to be and this has to take some of
the edge off of their playing.

This doesn't have much to do with Fay Vincent's resignation since
the problems baseball has right now are mainly fan-oriented.
However, Rush has a feeling that expansion is what is killing
baseball - there are too many teams right now. A lot of players
who are playing in the major leagues right now really aren't good
enough to be there; however, with this many teams, you need a lot
of players, and Rush's instinct is that there are only 400 or so
people in the nation that are real major league players.

Some teams, such as the Cleveland Indians, don't have a prayer of
winning a pennant. Rush asks if playing the game of baseball, in
and of itself, is enough for the fans. The answer is no - people
want to see at least one star in each game. If this weren't true,
college baseball would be getting record ratings on ESPN.

That being said, though, Rush still would like to know what the
reason is for the lack of interest in baseball among today's
young people. Bo tells Rush that one of the callers on hold
blames feminism for baseball's decline, and Rush promises to talk
to him about this.

*BREAK*

Rush encourages his dittoheads to be patient as far as his book
goes - if the local store doesn't have it, it's probably because
they've sold out and have already reordered it. Rush, of course,
was warned that his book would be a big flop, and he encourages
his audience to ignore the nay sayers in their lives - "for every
person who said `I can't do it,' somebody's doing it."

Phone   J.T. from Chico, CA

J.T. is convinced that feminists are the reason that young kids
are no longer as excited as they used to be about baseball. A lot
of parents are pushing their kids towards team sports like soccer
so that their poor kids don't have to experience the trauma that
comes from striking out for the third out in the 9th inning,
thereby losing the game for their team.

Rush says that there is some merit in this because he remembers
the story a couple years ago about a Pop Warner Football team in
Florida that was so good that the other teams in the league were
given 20 or 30 points at the start of each game. The coach was
even told that he couldn't play his best players all the time,
and that he would have to lose some games so that he wouldn't
demoralize the other teams.

Rush was stunned at this example of liberalism running rampant -
it's "unfair" that somebody always wins, so the answer is to
spread defeat around. J.T. told his wife that if his son wants to
play soccer, that's fine, but he's also going to play Little
League. His son is now 7 and loves baseball but hates soccer.
J.T. can't believe, though, that parents are going to such
extremes to protect their children from any sort of failure in
their lives.

J.T. says that kids have to learn to accept failure from time to
time, and Rush adds that people also have to learn their
limitations. If a kid can't be a pitcher, then he can try first
base. J.T. says that this is where he's playing now. Rush recalls
the conversation he had with a young feminist who was against
parents pushing their kids beyond their current abilities.
However, because Rush was pushed against what he thought his
limits were, he realized he could exceed his limits and strive
for excellence.

*BREAK*

The previous segment started a flood of memories in Rush. He
remembers how a 25-year old woman thought that pushing one's
children was some sort of torture or punishment. Rush, though,
recalls how the best teachers he's had were those that got the
most out of him; they did this by forcing him to get the most out
of himself. Bo says that he was motivated by teachers who wore
mini-skirts. Rush says that teachers have many brilliant
techniques.

Yet this idea that some people have that children should be
shielded from any competition and any chance of failure is
absurd. Rush recalls how he sat on the Little League bench for
most of the season. The reason for this was that he simply wasn't
as good as the rest of the players, yet he thought that the
explanation was that the coach was an idiot. His father, though,
steadfastly refused to intercede on his son's behalf, which
resulted in many disappointments for the young Rush.

Rush also wanted to be the place kicker in his sophomore year of
high school, but he lost out to a junior. These kind of things
shape a kid's character, and if they aren't present in a child's
life, then it's no wonder that kids grow up unable to deal with
disappointment and failure.

Phone   John from Omaha, NB

John says that Rush's baseball topic has touched a nerve with
him. He thinks that the disintegration of the family has a lot to
do with this - if the father isn't around to throw a ball to his
children, they aren't going to be interested in the game. John
attends minor league games and he sees mostly intact families in
the stands.

Rush wonders what the magical link is between intact families and
baseball - football and soccer don't seem to be as affected by
this. John replies that there's more of a team spirit and more of
a mystique in baseball. Plus, John points out that soccer, after
all, did come to the US from Communist countries.

Rush laughs but has to wonder where little kids who are soccer
freaks get their fix on the sport - who are their role models and
heroes in the sport? The indoor soccer league used to be big in
the US, but it's faded now. John adds that baseball has the big
money contracts and the superstars.

Rush wonders if this really hurts baseball - the only real
problem with sky-high salaries is that if you pay millions to the
superstars, you end up paying fortunes to mediocre players as
well. John thinks that there simply aren't that many good players
to keep the interest up. Rush says that an average salary of $1
million per season ought to inspire young kids. John, however,
doesn't think that there really aren't too many players around
who are the caliber of a Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays. Rush says
that these players are around, but they are just spread out among
all of the teams that are in the major leagues today.

Rush thanks John for calling, and Bo tells him that Orel
Hershiser is on the phone; Rush promises to talk to him after the
break.

*BREAK*

Phone   Orel Hershiser from Pasadena, CA

Rush is honored to be talking to Orel Hershiser of the Dodgers.
Orel says that baseball is having record years of attendance, and
he thinks that the sport is still the great American pastime.
Rush says that this could be, but he still has to wonder about
what he is seeing among young kids today. Also, TV networks are
saying that they aren't getting enough viewers and revenues will
have to be reduced.

Orel thinks that baseball may be saturating the market; however,
if five games are played each week, and each one gets a 5.0
rating, this is still more than the 8.0 rating games used to get
when there was only one game a week. So individual games may be
getting less of a rating, but on the whole baseball is still
growing.

Rush knows he has no hard facts to back up his gut feeling that
young kids are less interested in baseball, so he asks if this is
an accurate perception. Orel replies that the world is growing
fast, and kids have an ever-increasing set of opportunities
before them. Kids have many alternatives to playing baseball
today; 20 years ago, though, football, baseball, and basketball
were the big three of sports because they were where the money
was. Now, though, more and more sports are hitting the big-time.
Thus, when kids enter junior high school or high school they can
now enter tennis, soccer, hockey, and so forth.

Rush says that the money from these sports is still less than
that available in baseball, but Orel says that the opportunity is
still there for kids. Rush asks whether the expansion of major
league baseball has watered down the talent. Orel says that he
would rather have this "diluted product" reach millions of more
people and be in more cities than the old leagues which had only
8 teams apiece.

Rush calls this a great point - cities are begging for major
league sports teams, and expansion is filling this demand. For
example, Seattle would be willing to let the Japanese own their
team so long as they stay in town. Rush then asks, though, about
San Francisco and why the city doesn't seem to care about the
Giants.

Orel says that he feels sorry for San Franciscans, but it's a
tough stadium to play in. However, Orel feels happier knowing
that more kids in more cities can go to major league games, as
opposed to "raising" the "level" of play in baseball by having
less teams. Kids should be able to attend big league games in
their childhood.

Rush says that he would love to see baseball continue to grow,
and he enjoys knowing that baseball is not on its way out. He
suspects that his opinions have been flavored by New York City
sports writers who think baseball is an obsolete sport. Speaking
from the player's standpoint, Orel thinks the problem is that a
better system is needed between players and owners so that the
golden goose doesn't end up getting killed.

Rush wonders if Orel sees as many kids hanging around the stadium
as there were 20 years ago. Orel says that kids are still in
abundance, but perhaps for the wrong reasons - baseball
memorabilia has become such a big business in itself that for
many it is more important than the game. Rush holds Orel through
the break.

*BREAK*

Phone   Orel Hershiser from Pasadena, CA

Rush says that baseball has reached all new heights in popularity
along with the high salaries for the players. The owners may try
another lockout next season, but they have tried to bust the
players' union five times already and have failed. He wonders
what can be done between players and owners.

Orel says that free agency is usually blamed for high salaries,
but free agency has also allowed teams to win pennants. The
Yankees and Dodgers are no longer the perennial World Series
teams because players can now move between teams. This is why a
last-to-first playoff is possible as happened last year between
Minnesota and Atlanta. The great talents can change teams, and
this also allows more cities to see these players.

Rush asks what the effect of all this has been on player loyalty.
Orel replies that many individuals have a sentimental attachment
to certain teams and cities. Of course, loyalty goes both ways -
to and from both players and managers. Orel ends the segment by
pointing out that nobody is holding any guns to the heads of the
managers and forcing them to pay $7 million salaries. Rush agrees
and he thanks Orel for calling in.

-- 
John Switzer               | 50 years from now, nobody will
                           | remember Candice Bergen or Murphy
74076.1250@Compuserve.com  | Brown, but every school kid will
jrs@netcom.com             | be taught about President Quayle.
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,rec.humor,talk.bizarre,talk.politics.misc