Welcome to today's edition of the Rush 24-7 podcast.
What day is it?
Monday, eh?
Well, I guess it's the beginning of a brand new broadcast week then here on the Excellence in Broadcasting Network, Rush Limbaugh, firmly ensconced behind a golden EIB microphone here at the heavily bunkered, fortified, and protected and hidden EIB Southern Command.
A telephone number if you want to be on the program 800-282-2882.
The email address, rush at EIBnet.com.
Simon, Charleston, South Carolina, over the week.
And this, by the way, is why we have ramped up security here at the EIB Network Southern Command today, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm Charleston, South Carolina, over the weekend for a wedding.
A good friend got married.
I got to stay long enough after the wedding to offer condolences.
Wore all black to the wedding since weddings to me are periods of mourning.
But anyway, the night before the wedding, love to see Dawn just shake her head in disgust.
The night before the wedding, the wedding was Sunday, so Saturday night at the rehearsal dinner.
It was at a restaurant called Zinc.
It was a great place, but I mean, it was impossible for me to hear in there.
I mean, a lot of people in there, and it was just, it was difficult to hear.
But one woman managed to permeate the din.
A woman came up to me, a short little woman wearing white.
Said, I think, she said, my cousin, it could have been her sister, could have been her relative from Mars, I don't know, came up and said, you know, Mike so-and-so asked me to give you a big hug.
He said, just one of the nicest guys, but you know what I would really like to do is kick you in the groin, find out if you are as big an a-hole in person as you are on the air.
So I looked down at this woman.
I said, lady, I am the biggest a-hole you ever met.
And I squatted and I said, go for it.
And she kind of looked puzzled and I said, well, I'm just, ma'am, I'm a harmless, love of little fuzzball.
And she just ho-roomed and walked away.
And so we had security threats like this, ladies.
I mean, my groin is a security threat.
And we get these, there she goes again, shaking her head.
Anyway, it was a fabulous time.
Everybody had a tremendous time.
Late nights.
I mean, it was 2.30 on Saturday night, 1.30 on Sunday night.
That's why I asked what day it is today.
But I got home last night, and while fighting exhaustion and fatigue, nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, began late last night delving deep into show prep because these next two weeks, I just want to warn you, the media template is going to increase.
It's going to become more intense.
For example, last night's sickening puff piece with Nancy Pelosi on 60 Minutes.
You get used to more of these kinds of things.
The media is going to ignore any good news in the polls if there is any about Republicans.
They are going to play up all of the things that's designed or that are designed to suppress Republican turnout.
And I just want you to be prepared.
It's like Brian said to me, Brian said to me when I was in there telling him even more stories of the wedding weekend, stories I cannot share with you people.
Brian said, well, you know, I got food poisoning on Friday, so I had a whole weekend in front of the TV.
And I've concluded they don't pay you enough.
And I said, well, that's tough because I pay myself.
So you're saying I should pay myself more?
He said, yes, because I watched it all weekend.
I watched TV all weekend.
And nobody's on our side.
There's nobody but you.
There's nobody on our side.
And it got me to thinking that that is so untrue.
All of this stuff that you see on TV, the daily barrage, and it's only going to increase, folks.
I just want to warn you, is going to make all of you feel like Brian Phil.
My God, we're lonely.
We're an island in a sea of blue, about to be swamped by a blue tsunami.
And it's the kind of thing that's going to increase interest and voter turnout, I think, rather than suppress it, which is the game because the Democrats have nothing else.
If you look four years ago in 2002, they thought a dead guy in his funeral was going to whisk them to office.
That would be the Wellstone Memorial.
Two years ago, they thought a war hero from Vietnam, dressed back up in his military duds, was going to whisk them to power.
And six years ago, they thought a DUI story from George Bush's youth was going to whisk them to the White House.
And what today are they thinking?
Mark Foley, Mark Foley, Mark Foley.
If you take a look at what it is they use to make themselves feel all pumped up and positive and think they've got a chance, is all of this stuff that has nothing to do with who they are.
They are giving no one a reason to vote for them.
And I've always maintained that in heated election periods, people vote issues and they want reasons to vote for someone.
The Democrats are going to vote against Republicans on principle, but I'm talking about the fact that I still don't believe that they're out there building a movement.
I don't believe that the country is 60% Democrat, 40% Republican, or 60%, 20 and 20 if you want to factor independents in and all that.
But we will see.
I think Robert Novak has come off of his dire predictions.
His thoughts are not nearly as negative.
And he, as you know, along with yours truly, the only person who accurately called what was going to happen in 1994, ScottOtt, Scrappleface.com is a satire website, and it's hilarious.
His posting, Democrats suffer bouts of optimism, Prozac sales plunge with polls showing Republicans could lose control of Congress after the November elections.
Capitol Hill doctors have been swamped with Democrats reporting symptoms of optimism, a condition almost unknown among Democrats.
Eli Lilly, the maker of the antidepressant drug Prozac, announced today that sales in Washington have plunged in the weeks since Mark Foley stepped down in the wake of a scandal involving lurid emails.
Each time CNN announces a new body count plateau for American troops in Iraq, Prozac sales in the D.C. area dip again.
Our core customer base in this area, Washington, is rapidly vanishing, said an unnamed Eli Lilly spokesman.
However, long-term prospects for Prozac look bright since optimism is an acute condition among Democrats and not chronic.
And that, I think, nails it in the satirical way.
Democrats suffering bouts of optimism.
It is rare, is it?
In fact, now get this headline from Adam Nagourney and Robin Toner in the New York Times two days ago.
Guardedly, Democrats are daring to believe.
Guardedly, guardedly, guardedly, Democrats are daring to believe.
Nancy Pelosi's out there saying, I will get any suite I want.
We will not impeach President Bush.
We are going to do these.
They're already there.
There's nothing guarded about them at all, daring to believe.
They're not believing anything.
It's done and over with.
There's something unusual bubbling in Democratic political waters these days, optimism.
With each new delivery of bad news for Republicans, a party that has become so focused to losing is considering disbelievingly and with the requisite worry the possibility it could actually win in November.
Where have these two writers been?
They're just now figuring out.
They've had this wrapped up for six months in their own minds and, of course, in the minds of the media.
Gordon Fisher, former chairman, Iowa Democratic Party, I've moved from optimistic to Guinea.
I really have.
Barney Frank, Democrat Massachusetts, in line to become chairman of the Financial Services Committee in a Democrat House, offered raw evidence of the changing perception of the race.
His office, Mr. Frank said, has been contacted by a portrait painting firm offering to talk about possibilities for the traditional committee chairman's painting, one of those perks of power long absent from the lives of House Democrats.
I've acquired a lot of new friends this year, Frank said, and I haven't gotten any nicer.
Still, Democratic ebullions could be found in all corners of Washington over the past few days.
It was palpable at social and work gatherings where Democrats traded gossip about how big a Democrat majority the House could be, in Capitol Hill conference rooms where Democrats were prepping transition plans under orders to keep them quiet, and in offices of Democratic strategerists and pollsters who were drawing up growing lists of Republicans who might be vulnerable.
So Democrats guardedly are daring to believe.
That story is an attempt to tone down what has already become their obvious mindset, and that is they win.
And there's some controversy.
I remember when the New York Times ran a story said that Bush and Rove, inexplicably, see the Republicans holding both houses and speculated as to whether or not they might be delusional in the House.
The same thing is happening with a story from Barron's magazine.
It's part of the Wall Street Journal orb.
Barron's cover story, The GOP Victory.
It's by Jim McTaig.
Jumala Democrats should reconsider their order for confetti and noisemakers.
Barron's claims in their next edition of Democrats is widely reported, expecting GOP-weary voters to flock to the polls in two weeks, meaning Democrat voters, and hand them control of the House for the first time in 12 years.
But we just don't see it here at Barron's.
Our analysis, based on a race-by-race examination of campaign finance data, suggests the GOP will hang on to both chambers, at least nominally.
We expect the Republican majority in the House to fall by eight seats to 224 of the chamber's 435.
At the very worst, our analysis suggests that the party's loss could be as large as 14 seats, leaving a one-seat majority, but that's still a far cry from the 20-seat loss some are predicting.
In the Senate, with 100 seats, we see the GOP winding up with 52 down three.
And now everybody's going off on Barons.
Who are these guys?
I thought you Democrats were guardedly optimistic.
And now, but when somebody comes out and says you're not going to win it, despite what you think, they get mad.
How can you say that?
We've already counted the votes and the votes are in the polls.
And we already know it's over.
It's just a matter of time here, a mere formality.
At any rate, we've got a lot of great audio soundbites today, folks.
And by the way, I want to tell you, we have extended, you've heard it, we've extended the deadline for orders for the special Limbaugh letter election issue.
We've extended that one more day.
You can order today and tomorrow and have your subscription start with the October issue.
You've heard people call us about the October issue and how much they love it.
It's the giant 26-page issue.
And it is.
If I say so myself, and it's hard to pick a best because everything we do here is excellence in broadcasting and excellence in publishing.
But this is one of the best newsletters that we have put out.
We're going to extend The deadline for new subscribers to have their subscriptions start with the October issue, the giant October issue one day through today.
What's the number?
800-457-4141.
Yeah, if you want to order the newsletter, is it really a good thing to have anyway?
It's the most widely read political newsletter in the country, but this issue is tremendous.
It's 800-457-4141.
All right.
A quick timeout, ladies and gentlemen.
We will be back.
We'll continue broadcast excellence right after this.
Well, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit another all-time high.
It was over 12,100.
There it is, 12,114.
It's up 112 points today.
The reason, according to experts, is that shares of Walmart shot up on plans by the company to slow new store growth and to slash capital spending.
Ooh, that's great.
That's more money for us than the share price.
So once again, Walmart coming to the rescue of the United States economy, doing far more for the average American than any liberal social program or combination thereof ever could.
Now, the drive-by media today, folks, is going bonkers over this candidate in a Hillary Clinton debate who made remarks referencing her appearance.
John Spencer, running for the Senate in New York against Hillary Rodham Clinton, said that the senator used to be ugly.
Now, he didn't use the word.
He speculates that she got millions of dollars in plastic surgery.
What he did say was, have you ever seen a picture of her back then?
Whoo, I don't know why Bill married her.
He said of the Clintons, who celebrated their 31st anniversary this month, noting that Hillary Clinton looks much different now.
He chalked it up to millions of dollars of work, plastic surgery.
She looks good now, John Spencer said.
Spencer's bizarre comments came during a conversation with a reporter seated beside him and his wife Kathy on the 10:30 a.m. jet blue flight Friday to Rochester, the site of the race's first debate.
In the wide-ranging chat, he also declared that his GOP running mate, Attorney General hopeful Janine Pirro, was going to lose.
Howard Wolfson, an aide to Clinton, who turns 59 Thursday, said she'd never had plastic surgery, but he declined otherwise to respond to Spencer's comments.
So media all day asking, did he really call her ugly?
Is that what he did?
And is that a taboo?
Is that crossing a line that you're not supposed to cross in politics?
You know what they say, folks?
And I've mentioned this to you before, politics is just showbiz for the ugly.
And it's, you know, when it comes, well, I'm not defending what the guy said.
Snerdley, don't go notes here.
Don't, you know, I'm just saying that it is, look at what you can say about people compared to what you can't.
Look at what the left has said about George W. Bush.
And nobody says that crosses the line.
You can call him a liar.
You can say he's Hitler.
You can say that he worked as part of a conspiracy to blow up the World Trade Center.
You can say all of that, but it doesn't cross the line.
But you, as a candidate, can speculate why Bill Clinton married Hillary, and the drive-by media will descend on you like white on rice.
As they say, I just, I find the thing you, I know you can't, well, but okay, Snerdley says you can't call any woman ugly in public and get away with it.
Can women refer to men in deleterious physical ways and get away with it?
Hell yes.
What's different than saying such and such woman reminds me of or reminds somebody of your ex-wife or your ex-wife and her mother-in-law?
What is to, Ann Richards said that about George W. Bush.
It reminds me of my ex-husband.
It reminds every woman of her first ex-husband.
Ma Richards said, of course, we all laughed at that, but you try that.
You're right.
Try it the other way around.
Let Rick Lazio walk over to Hillary's podium and offer her a piece of paper to sign on campaign pledges and financing, and he's accused of being a predator.
He's attacking the girl.
You can't hit the girl, but the girls can hit back all day long, wherever and whenever they want.
And it is a double stand.
Anyway, I find it fascinating.
The media is absorbed with this.
Now, the New York Times today, and Meet the Press, yes, folks, there is, we've got a new azm out there, obasms.
There are obasms.
Barack Obama obasms are breaking out in orgasmic fashion all over the place.
He got his coming out appearance on Meet the Press yesterday.
He's got a couple stories in the New York Times today.
Time magazine last week speculating in an obasm on Obama for 08.
And a couple of questions spring to mind on this.
Is the New York Times pushing Obama over Hillary?
Is Time Magazine pushing Obama over Hillary?
Are there people out there in the Democratic side that are really worried, don't think Hillary can win, and they need the new fresh, exciting face?
My question is, what's Obama ever done to warrant all these obasms?
What has he done?
Really?
What has he accomplished?
What?
Okay, raise more money than anybody except Hillary Fine and Deb, but what has he done in terms of achievement?
What has he done that warrants this vault from a first-term senator to presidential contender?
Likable?
Fine.
You still aren't naming any achievements for me that you don't know what he's done.
You don't know what his achievements are legislatively.
You don't know what he's a good, he's a good liberal.
You're saying none of that matters to the left.
You're saying all that matters is he's likable.
He can raise money.
Well, what about the Hillary Connect?
Charismatic.
He's Clinton without the intern?
Well, give him time.
Clinton without the intern.
What does that mean?
Smooth talking, charismatic lies?
Well, what does it mean?
All of the above?
I'm just telling you, there's something at work here.
Now, do you think Obama is being elevated here to be on the ticket with Hillary?
Hillary Obama, or Clinton Barack, you know, whatever.
No, Clinton Obama is his last one.
Clinton Obama.
Ever since Ted Kennedy started calling him Osama Obama, I get confused on what his name is.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting dynamic that they're pumping this guy up.
And it's called what?
Well, no, but I know what it is.
I know why, but it's Colin Powell all over again, but they didn't puff up Colin Powell to go against Hillary.
These are Democrats building this guy up.
There's media building this guy up when they've got a presumptive nominee already.
Well, you don't like that?
They're begging me not to say it.
Greetings and welcome back.
Great to have you.
El Rushball fired up, revved up.
Brand new week of broadcast excellence here on the Excellence and Broadcasting Network.
I am America's real anchor man.
I've been thinking about this.
You can't hit the girl in politics.
Well, you can't hit a girl anywhere.
You can't cross a certain line.
Let's just stick with politics here.
When discussing certain characteristics of female politicians, the line doesn't exist when you're talking about male politicians.
But it seems to me, ladies and gentlemen, that that line didn't exist when the liberals wanted to go after, and the media too.
I mean, liberal media cartoonists wanted to go after Condoleezza Rice for her appearance.
I saw some of the most disgusting cartoon caricatures of Condoleezza Rice as a slave mama, as a slave period.
I saw one cartoon implying she's a sex slave to George W. Bush, and they grotesquely amplified her characteristics: her hair, her cheekbones, her lips, her nose.
And I mean, there was no guilt.
There was no remorse.
They didn't think they'd done anything wrong.
Catherine Harris, immediately after the Florida recount imbroglio was over, we got stories, well, even in the middle of it, about rotten hair, all of the makeup, the Cruella Deville appearance.
And Cruella Deville, of course, a mean cartoon character wanted to wipe out a bunch of Dalmatians for their fur, for her coat.
So don't tell me that you can't cross the line when discussing the beauty aspect of the physical characteristics of women in politics.
You most certainly can.
Now, don't misunderstand.
I am not suggesting that it's okay what this guy said.
But the idea that a line has been crossed here is not right.
I'm not saying that what was done to Condoleezza Rice and Catherine Harris, there are probably a number of others as well, was okay.
And so tit for tat, not saying that at all.
I'm just saying the double standard here is what allows for this kind of arrogant condescension toward this guy, Spencer, and praise and laughter for the people who have made fun of Catherine Harris and Condoleezza Rice.
And of course, in Condoleezza Rice's case, it wasn't even race, or not even race, formed a firewall.
They just blew right past that.
I mean, and Saturday Night Live routinely did little bits on what they considered to be the unattractive appearance of Chelsea Clinton.
So, you know, there are, there are, this line may exist, but there are clearly a bunch of Nimrods who will cross it.
And if you're a certain Nimrod, liberal Nimrod who crosses it, you'll get away with it.
If you're not, you won't.
Now, in addition to the New York Times having their Obasm for Barack Obama, was that ran today?
Here's one also from today: The Los Angeles Times: Obama admits he's thinking 08.
Senator Berlin.
Oh, and by the way, the Financial Times has a story on Obama.
They've got their own obesm.
And they quote me, and I think I haven't seen it.
Somebody has told me about this.
They quote me in a way.
They ask Obama, what's it like, or how do you feel when you hear that Rush Limbaugh calls you Obama Osama?
Well, I didn't.
Ted Kennedy did.
Ted Kennedy was in one of his rants at the National Press Club.
And I think it was in QA, and he got a question about, and he called him Osama Obama.
We put together a parody of it because we thought it was so funny.
Here it is.
So once again, I'm quoted for something I don't say in an august publication such as the Financial Times, when in fact it was uttered by Senator Kennedy.
Anyway, this L.A. Times piece obesm, he's a rock star.
Obama 45 told me at the press he would not make any decision about running before the November 7th midterm.
How big of him?
Ah, my throat's getting dry, folks, over all these Obama stories.
Pardon me.
Drinking tropical fruit-flavored water today, switching off the usual grape.
Love this stuff.
Anyway, I'm still at the point where I have not made a decision to pursue higher orifice, he said, but it is true that I have thought about it over the last several months.
After November 7th, I'll sit down, I'll consider, and if at some point I change my mind, I'll make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me.
A second Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous for professional reasons said it may be difficult for Obama to translate his popularity into a White House run after only two years in the Senate.
That's no big deal.
Hillary's doing it after five.
But this gets to my question.
What's he done in two years?
And he's a presidential candidate.
There's nothing of substance.
He may be a substantive guy because nobody knows it yet.
You know, there's sort of like there's a Cuomo aspect.
He gave a good speech once, like Cuomo did at the 84 Democratic Convention.
He lived off that, still lives off that speech today.
Last old month, Obama was the main speaker at Senator Tom O'Harkin's Iowa Steak Fry, an annual political event that attracts thousands of Democrats in a state that plays a key role in presidential politics.
Yeah, he took it by storm.
Like a rock star hit the place, said Joe Trippe, who's been working in campaigns since 1979.
Bill in Bowling Brook, Illinois, wants to weigh in on this.
Nice to have you with us, sir.
Welcome to the program.
Thank you, Rusham.
What an honor it is, sir.
Thank you.
I just wanted to throw my two cents out there about not having a clue what Obama has done here in Illinois.
The only thing I think he's done was joined Oprah's book club.
And I could do that if you need a Republican senator.
I just can't imagine what people use when they decide who they're wanting for their next president.
Well, are you saying Oprah is one of the reasons his star is rising?
I got to believe.
It's my total opinion as if he can't.
She did have her own Obasm.
I remember that.
Yeah, that could be it.
Hell, on the Democratic side, it's got to be anything but substance.
But I'm going to tell you something, folks.
I am going to tell you something.
I'm going to be the first out of the box with this.
Somebody has to say this, ladies and gentlemen.
No major party has nominated an African American, or for that matter, a woman, to run for president.
So a Democratic field that included Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama would be, at the least, historically notable.
One Democratic strategerist close to Mr. Obama who spoke on condition of anonymity suggested that Obama would probably look to the results in Tennessee where Harold Ford's trying to become the state's first black senator to measure the obstacles Obama might face in a national election.
You know who the biggest, what the biggest obstacle would be for Obama?
Would be the Democratic Party.
And that's what needs to be said.
It's easy to get excited about the girl you'll never get.
And that's where a lot of people are with Obama.
He's the girl they'll never get.
Look at what the Democrats have done to Carl McCall.
Look what they did to Maynard Jackson.
Look what they've done to Kwaizi Mfume.
They tried to throw Congressman William Jefferson Democrat Louisiana overboard for the $90,000 in his freezer.
Let's just wait and see.
The Reverend Jackson, yes, had to run third party because the party chose Mondal.
You know, this is this is one of the world's best-kept secrets, worst kept from our spec vantage point.
But one of the world's best-kept secrets is that for all this talk about how the Democrats empower blacks, you take a look at the prominent blacks who have sought to rise in power in this party, and they get under look at Kwaizi Mfumi, almost didn't endorse Ben Cardin in Maryland.
He'd been a loyal Democrat.
He's done the right stuff, said the right stuff, did the right thing when he ran the NAALCP.
Member of Congress from Maryland thought he'd be a shoe-in, get the party endorsement.
They wanted nothing to do with him.
Ben Cardin got the gig.
It's, you know, it's just one of these things, folks, where everybody's riding high on Barack Obama right now.
But when it gets down to the pedal meeting the medal, it's going to be fascinating to see once we get to this period in 07 when the campaign begins in 08 to see how they deal with this.
And if Mrs. Clinton doesn't want this guy on the ticket, if this is not part of a grand scheme to get him on the ticket as VP, and it might well be that, who knows?
But if it's not that, if he becomes a viable opponent to Mrs. Clinton, you want to see what happens then.
Back after this, stay with us.
By the way, here's the reference, misquoting, a total misrepresentation of me in the Financial Times that published today a subtle but effective political soft sell.
This is another obasm from the FinancialTimes.com and the writer, reporter Edward Luce.
Whether or not the young politician was offended by being dubbed Osama Obama by Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host, or blah, blah, blah, blah, I didn't do that.
It was Ted Kennedy that did that.
And as, you know, it's not that hard to listen to this program.
Where does this guy get this stuff?
Well, you know, the way they'll cover this is, well, yes, Ted Kennedy said it in a slip-up.
Ted Kennedy got his tongue tied for whatever reason at the National Press Club.
But you, Limbaugh, you've built on it and you made a whole bit out of it and so forth.
Yeah, but I didn't say it first.
It would have never occurred to me to say it.
The fact is, I must tell you, since I first heard Ted Kennedy say it, Cookie, find the bite.
You know, I know we've got it in the archives because we did the bit on it.
We got to find the bite.
So you can hear how Ted Kennedy's a room laughed.
Kennedy laughed, if my memory is correct on this.
Ever since he called him that, it's like the last song you heard.
You keep singing it for an hour or two.
When he said Obama Osama, I mean, I have to check myself sometimes.
And I make the mistake of assuming that everybody listens to this program every second it's on.
And so that if somebody hears me say Osama Obama, they will remember that it was a Ted Kennedy faux pas.
Rick in Cincinnati, you're next on the program.
Great to have you.
Welcome.
Hi, Rush.
Hi.
My theory is that the liberal media is perpetrating the stories of the Democrats taking over and winning the elections strictly for Democrats' fundraising issues.
If they told the truth and said, well, they're not going to gain control, fundraising for Democrats would think.
Well, that may be a factor.
And I think that's just that, a factor.
But I think there are two other things.
I think they believe it already.
I know these people like every square inch of my glorious naked body, Rick, not just the back of my hand.
And they already think it's in the bag.
And that's why they're right.
You have to understand their birthright is power.
That birthright has been denied them through chicanery, voting fraud, tricks, and marketing for 12 years now.
And it's only just and right that power be returned to them.
They are the elites.
They are the smartest people in the room.
They are the ones to whom power naturally flows.
Everybody else is a contemptible, incompatible, incompetent boob.
And so they can taste it.
This is it.
They were doing the same thing in 02.
They were doing the same thing in 04.
And look where it got them.
It's just been more concentrated and intense this year.
In addition to that, I think they're trying to suppress Republican turnout, as well as if they're trying to do fundraising and not working all that well.
I mean, they've had to go out and borrow $5 or $10 million for some House and Senate seats.
I think they're trying to suppress turnout.
There's no question what's going on.
There's a coordinated effort between the Drive-By Media and the Democratic Party.
But if you look around, ladies and gentlemen, you find little stories that don't fit the template.
I happen to have one of them here in my nicotine-stained fingers.
It is from Hayward, California, which is the Bay Area.
Sitting in the Democratic Party's downtown Hayward storefront, surrounded by empty chairs and silent phones, as the weekday turns into night, Sean Wilson resembles the Maytag repairman, the loneliest guy in town.
The pep that marked prior Democrat campaigns, including the June primary, has skipped a beat as the Eden Area United Democratic campaign moves into the final weeks of the fall election season.
In terms of getting volunteers, it's the worst campaign ever, says Sean Wilson, a Democratic stalwart on leave as Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lee Bitger's chief of staff.
He attributed the low turnout to volunteer fatigue after the highly contested primary, individual comments or commitments rather to other campaigns, a lack of new volunteers, and some disinterest in campaigning for state office.
Wilson's concern that electoral doldrums will hurt Democrats in the voting booth.
It's sad, he said.
In the past, we've used Alameda County to neutralize Orange County and other counties voting Republicans.
This is essentially San Francisco.
This is essentially the Bay Area.
And the headline of the story, this is insidebayarea.com's website.
Democratic Party volunteers, it's not big media, it's not the drive-by media, it's some local publication.
Democratic Party volunteers wane in off-year election.
Now, this doesn't fit the template.
This is not what we've been hearing.
We've been hearing that Democrats can't wait.
They're having to be physically, forcibly restrained in their homes, practically, and offices.
They're so eager to get to the ballot box.
And here, this poor guy can't even get any volunteers to show up.
Now, since it's the Bay Area, you might assume that it's possible that people don't think there's any reason to go out and work because Democrat victories there are easy and automatic.
Even so, a little place like Hayward in the Bay Area, no enthusiasm.
Volunteers way down.
What else is not being told us by the Drive-By media?
We found a Ted Kennedy bites from January 11, 2005 at the National Press Club.
Actually, calls Obama Osama bin Laden before he figures out what his name is.