RUSH: Mark in Reading, Kansas. Nice to have you on the program, sir.
CALLER: Rush, it’s my great privilege to join the program today. I would like to say that my osmotic absorption of the techniques of advanced conservative studies have lent me a special skill with truth detecting and the tone and the tenor of our liberal female candidate, and unfortunately I believe project chaos is having even greater success during the appearances of her younger ingenue, her daughter. After 70 softball appearances at which she apparently doesn’t receive any hard questions about her parents’ political careers, finally she received a question to which she responds, it’s none of our business.
RUSH: Yes, I have two sound bites here from Chelsea Clinton. And, you’re right, she was off limits, nobody was allowed to talk to Chelsea Clinton, report on her. And of course the press dutifully followed the demands of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton. No such courtesy afforded the Bush twins. So Chelsea has had a charmed life in terms of not having to deal with any kind of press that is especially critical or probing. But yesterday at Butler University in Indianapolis, she took questions from students at a campaign event for her mother. One of the students, Evan Strange, asked Chelsea her opinion on the criticism of her mother and how she handled the Lewinsky scandal might be a sign of weakness, and that she might not be a strong enough candidate to be president. And this is what Chelsea said.
CHELSEA: Wow, you’re the first person actually that’s ever asked me that question in the, I don’t know, maybe 70 college campuses that I have now been to. And I do not think that’s any of your business.
RUSH: Well, she told that little dork. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? Here’s Chelsea Clinton, it’s none of your business, I’ve never been asked this question, who do you think you are? The way my mom handled the Lewinsky thing, might mean she’s weak, well, who do you think you are? And then on the Early Show today, CBS’ Harry Smith interviewed Butler University student Evan Strange and the student paper editor Brock Benefiel. Smith said, ‘Evan, let me ask you, why did you ask that question?’
STRANGE: I’m a supporter of Hillary, I’m a Hillary — I love Hillary, so when I talk to my friends, I tell ’em that, one of their constant, you know, questions to me is, ‘What makes her such a strong leader,’ and they always bring up, you know, that scandal, and it’s not something that I asked to cause trouble. It was to show those people, you know, what makes Hillary so strong. It was basically an opportunity for Chelsea, you know, to show all the doubters, you know, how strong Hillary is.
RUSH: Well, obviously Chelsea didn’t see that opportunity. Why didn’t Chelsea see that opportunity? Why do you think Chelsea didn’t see the opportunity to portray her mother as very strong and so forth on all of this? Now, folks, I understand, Chelsea doesn’t want people to ask these questions. She was the one that was scarred by this. Hillary was the one that knew all of this was going on for all these years, but this had to be a shock to Chelsea — maybe it wasn’t, who knows. I’m being kind and compassionate and assuming so. But the fact that she did not seize the opportunity to portray her mother as a strong figure in all of this is quite interesting. So the next question from Harry Smith was, ‘So you were trying to give her an opportunity, then. How surprised were you by her response?’
BENEFIEL: I mean, I was very surprised. I can see where she’d get a little defensive because of the question, you know, and just hearing ‘Lewinsky’ over and over and over again, I mean I can see where she would react that way, but I mean I would have liked to hear her say something about her record or something else like that instead of just dismissing the question.
RUSH: But she hasn’t heard about Lewinsky over and over, she admitted that this is the first time in 70 college campus visits that anybody has ever asked her that question. Do you think they really didn’t assume at Clinton, Inc., that at some point Chelsea was going to get that question? It seems to me that there would be a little bit more preparation on this rather than to say, ‘None of your business.’ Anyway, I gotta take a brief time-out, folks. In normal circles yeah, ‘none of your business,’ but her mom’s running for president. That changes the dynamic on this stuff.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Sally Quinn on the CBS Early Show today. Harry Smith talked to her. He said, ‘Should Chelsea Clinton be off limits? I mean, so many of us have tried to ask her or roll the camera while even approaching her and, ‘Turn it off or I’m not going to talk to you,’ is always what we hear.’
QUINN: What happened yesterday is Bill Clinton’s legacy, and it really is heartbreaking that his daughter at this age, almost 30, is going to be confronted with this question for the rest of her life. As for whether she should be off limits, she’s an adult, and she’s campaigning for her parents. So she should not be off limits. And I think that anyone has the right to ask someone who’s campaigning anything. You don’t have to answer it, but you certainly should be prepared to be asked these questions.
RUSH: Exactly. That was my whole point. But this is a brilliant analysis, I hate to say this, Bill Clinton’s legacy. Monica Lewinsky will never escape it, and everybody’s going to want to ask Chelsea about it, and they’ve been trying to rewrite his legacy every moment since they left the White House. They haven’t succeeded. One more. Harry Smith says, ‘As the press, though, we basically said, ‘Okay, those are the rules, that’s fine.’ Have we sort of laid down for the Clintons on Chelsea?’
QUINN: Well, Harry, I don’t understand why the press is being suckered like this, frankly. I mean, there are all these cameras, and they say turn off the cameras. And what happens if everybody gets together and just says, ‘We’re not turning off the cameras?’ And so if you don’t want to be on the campaign trail, fine, but we’re going to cover you. Frankly, in all of my years of journalism, I have never seen the press lie down like this before.
RUSH: She’s talking about for Chelsea Clinton during the eight years that Bill and Hillary were in the White House.