RUSH: Here’s Al in Boise, Idaho. Hey, Al, great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Yeah. My one football thing is to say, “Way to go Broncos.”

RUSH: (laughing)

CALLER: But my thing is, I’m an employee at the airport, and we heard that Obama’s coming Wednesday and I’m wondering why in the world is he coming here. I mean, right now I’m sitting here in a store and I just saw two guys with guns at their side and everybody here has concealed weapons and they have flags flying on their cars and, you know, why is he coming to Boise, Idaho? He’s gonna speak at Boise State, but what’s he gonna say?

RUSH: Well, I’ll tell you, it’s a good question, actually, even though, Al, you’re trying to be funny with the Broncos comment and some of your other side comments about concealed weapons, you actually, whether you know it or not, asked a good question. And so I’m gonna endeavor to honor your call by actually answering your question: Why is Obama going to Boise? It’s not why is he going to Boise, ’cause Al means, “This is a conservative place, why would Obama be coming here?” Obama’s going a lot of places. The state of the union timeline is being totally reversed this year.

Normally what happens, the president does the State of the Union show, and there are a couple of leaks in the days leading up to it about what he’s gonna say, but not all. And then after the State of the Union, which, by the way, the State of the Union is not the State of the Union anymore. The State of the Union is Santa Claus announcing who’s been good and who’s been bad and what who’s been good is gonna get. That’s all State of the Union is. Santa Claus actually speaking.

The State of the Union is not about the state of the union. It’s not a report to Congress. It’s not a report to us about the state of the country. Obama, if he had to be honest about that, he wouldn’t even want to tell us. What this is is Santa Claus announcing who is on the good list and the bad list and who on the good list is gonna get what. And normally you do the speech and then you travel for a week to various parts of the country, explaining, detailing, giving examples of what you meant, who’s gonna get what.

What Obama’s doing this year, they’re doing that before the speech. He’s announcing what Santa Claus is gonna give to who before the speech, and then at the speech, and then there will be another series of travel events after the speech. But what’s new this time is before the speech, going out and setting it all up, one of the reasons for that is the ratings for the State of the Union speech are way down. Just, as a matter of course, in the past number of years, not just Obama, but during Bush, because the State of the Union speech is not the state of the union. It’s an announcement of a bunch of, “Gee, I really want to do these — it’s how I’m gonna buy your vote.”

Ninety percent of it’s never gonna happen. Ninety percent of it never has a chance to happen, that’s not the point. The point is he wants you to think he’s gonna give you the moon. Well, since the numbers are down, the ratings are down and fewer and fewer people are watching, Obama is making the State of the Union a multiple day event rather than a one-night speech.

So each place he goes to make an appearance about the upcoming State of the Union, it’s gonna be covered, it’s gonna be talked about, it’s gonna be reported on. And he’s gonna go to places like Boise, which are not particularly favorable. He’s gonna go to big Democrat areas, too. But this is all about getting the message out, outside of the night itself with the Republican response. Actually, instead of the State of the Union being a one-night affair, Obama’s turning it into a 10-day affair. That’s really what it is. And you can think it’s good politics or not, but that’s the answer to the question.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: By the way, just a little side light. This is gonna be Obama’s first ever visit to Idaho. He’s never been there before. Never been up in there, gonna be up in Boise. There are three other states he’s never visited. They’re all red states: South Dakota, Utah, South Carolina. And the State of the Union ratings last year, Obama’s TV ratings, State of the Union, were the lowest since Clinton in 2000. So that’s why all of these pre-State of the Union show appearances. He’s basically announcing what’s in the speech before the night of the speech.