RUSH: Here is Paul in Rockland County, New York. Paul, thank you for calling. You’re next on the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Hi. Good afternoon, Rush.
RUSH: Hi.
CALLER: You know, there’s a highway that goes from the brand-spanking-new airport just out of Tbilisi, a beautiful four-lane highway that goes into town. You know what that highway is called?
RUSH: Tell me.
CALLER: George Bush Boulevard. And as you round the corner into Tbilisi there’s a giant poster of our president waving his hand, welcoming — actually welcoming people away from the city. That airport, this brand-spanking-new airport that the Russians bombed first before they even started attacking any part of Ossetia — you paid for that; I paid for that. We paid for the highway.
RUSH: Okay, so what does that mean? It deserves to be blown up?
CALLER: So what I’m saying is this is not a referendum on what Obama could do wrong. This is betrayal of the utter weakness of the policies of the Bush-McCain —
RUSH: (bursts out laughing)
CALLER: Yes, you can puff your lips. You’ve been talking for an hour —
RUSH: (laughing)
CALLER: No, no! You’ve been talking for an hour about Obama. This has absolutely — you know it, Rush; this has absolutely — nothing to do with Obama, and yet have you mentioned once Bush? Have you…? Have you mentioned once?
RUSH: Yes, I have.
CALLER: No you haven’t!
RUSH: Yes, I have.
CALLER: Okay, if you did it was — it was a micron of information as compared to going on and on and on and on for an hour about —
RUSH: Bush hasn’t said anything stupid about this. McCain hasn’t said anything stupid about it. Obama did.
CALLER: It’s not about saying anything, Rush. It’s about what mistakes we made in the first place —
RUSH: Okay.
CALLER: — to allow this.
RUSH: All right. The show has all of a sudden, folks, turned into Beat Up America Day, so what mistakes did we make?
CALLER: No, I’m not beating up America. I’m not beating up America.
RUSH: — and by the way, which statue of Bush —
CALLER: Sorry. Sorry.
RUSH: — 41 or 43?
CALLER: Don’t — don’t pull the patriot card on me, pal? I’m not beating up on America.
RUSH: I’m not pulling any card on you!
CALLER: Yes you are!
RUSH: I’m just asking you a question. Which…?
CALLER: You’re telling me I’m beating up on America. You’re the one who’s beating up on America —
RUSH: I am not beating up on America.
CALLER: — if you want to take that route.
RUSH: I never beat up on America.
CALLER: Sure, you are!
RUSH: I love America.
CALLER: Well, I love America more than you do.
RUSH: Would you tell me, what relevance does the fact we got a highway named George Bush highway and a statue of Bush — which Bush 41 or 43, by the way?
CALLER: Uh, W.
RUSH: W. We gotta statue of W at the Tbilisi airport?
CALLER: No, no, no. The highway is called George Bush —
RUSH: The highway, yes. And of course this justifies the Russians blowing it up?
CALLER: No, of course not. You didn’t let me finish.
RUSH: (pausing to let him finish)
CALLER: (silence) You didn’t let me finish!
RUSH: Okay.
CALLER: My point is, our weakness allowed the Russians to get in there, okay? This had nothing to do with, uh, allowing this or allowing that. We — our current administration is — did not see this coming, and we — we — we are all over that country. I’ve been there, and I’ll confess it’s anecdotal observation, but there are more Americans there than you can imagine. I saw US Military guys flying around in commercial flights —
RUSH: In Georgia.
CALLER: — internally. Okay? We’re all over there. Again, it’s anecdotal. I don’t know. It’s just my own observation. So clearly we got stuff going on there. This, to me, I see this attack from Russia as a slap in the face to you and me, and the weakness of our current administration in either not seeing this coming or they did see it coming and they allowed it to happen. So this has nothing to do with Obama.
RUSH: What do you mean…?
CALLER: What does this have to do with Obama playing golf in Hawaii?
RUSH: What do you mean, we allowed it to happen?
CALLER: Look, Rush, you and I both know, that —
RUSH: Don’t try that rhetorical device on me!
CALLER: (stammering)
RUSH: Do not tell me that I ‘know’ what you know, because it may not be the case that I even agree with what you think you know.
CALLER: Well, okay, fair enough, but you use rhetoric all morning long so I’m allowed to make one rhetorical —
RUSH: Well, not rhetoric. We communicate here with language and thoughts. We make a lot of sense on this program.
CALLER: You make — you use rhetoric all morning, I’m allowed one rhetorical slip. ‘I believe’ — how’s that? — that there are some things that we do that sort of go under the radar. I don’t think you would argue with that.
RUSH: There’s that rhetorical device again! Do not put words in my mouth, please.
CALLER: Okay. I’m — I sincerely apologize.
RUSH: It’s a trick that you liberals have.
CALLER: What I’m saying is, clearly, there are — there is American activity going on in Georgia —
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: — that either the Russians knew about or didn’t know about.
RUSH: It doesn’t matter. It’s called NATO.
CALLER: Well, they’re not a member of NATO, pal.
RUSH: No, but they’re thinking about letting them in. They go back and forth.
CALLER: My point is —
RUSH: The Russians do not want them to be in NATO, is the point —
CALLER: Of course.
RUSH: — and we’re going back and forth with the possibility of them being in NATO.
CALLER: I think this is far more simple —
RUSH: Paul?
CALLER: No, no, no, no. No! It’s a much more simple equation than that.
RUSH: Paul, this is far more than the Russians striking out at us.
CALLER: No!
RUSH: This is the Russians showing the world something. This is the Russians saying, ‘We’re back.’
CALLER: I don’t dispute that.
RUSH: They have been flying these bear bomber sorties all over the world. This is not a surprise. This shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody.
CALLER: But this is a weakness on our behalf, and where did that weakness come from? It didn’t come from Obama.
RUSH: Wait a minute.
CALLER: You’re talking —
RUSH: Wait a minute. How —
CALLER: You talked about —
RUSH: — in the world can this be a weakness on our part when I didn’t think we’re supposed to use our military to stop people doing anything in the first place! So what the hell weakness are you describing?
CALLER: I’m — I’m — I’m talking about (pause) and there’s your rhetoric. I’m talking about Obama, you going on and on about Obama playing golf in Hawaii and making some sort of claim that this whole world is going to fall apart because of Obama. This has absolutely nothing — you talked for an hour and a half about Barack Obama. This has nothing to do with Barack Obama!
RUSH: Yes, it does. I’ll tell you what this has to do with. It has to do with the fact that we have three people speaking for the country right now. We’re in the midst of a presidential race with a lame-duck president. We got Obama speaking from Hawaii while playing golf. We got the governor of Virginia saying Obama’s words turned the Russians back when the Russians haven’t turned back yet. That, sir, is just funny. I’m sorry, rhetoric or otherwise, I’m going to talk about it. I’m going to have a lot of fun with it. McCain and Bush have been somewhat tough, but I read an AP story earlier today that the United States can’t do anything about. Why can’t we do anything about it? I thought words were supposed to be enough to stop bad people? I thought we were supposed to have diplomacy. Bush has made Putin a blood brother, practically. We’ve tried all kinds of diplomacy. This is a weakness on the United States’ part? We’re not even supposed to be the world policemen, and we’re supposed to know when the Russians are going to attack an ally and get in there and stop it? What do you think our diplomacy has been aimed at? We’ve been talking to Putin trying to make him one of his, feeding him barbecue and all this stuff, all these years. Bush said he ‘looked into his eyes and saw his soul.’ We’ve been practicing everything the left says to do, diplomacy and words, and look what it got us! I gotta go. Quick break. Thanks for the call out there, Paul.