January 5, 2004

RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, let me cut to the chase here, because I've had several thoughts on what we've seen about Dr. Dean since the last time we were together on Christmas Eve. Now, the first has to do with Dr. Dean's display of weakness. I just mentioned this. He publicly whined about Terry McAwful not intervening when other Democratic presidential candidates criticized him.

We've been told time and time again by Dr. Dean that if the president criticizes him, Dean's going to hit back and he's going to hit back hard. He's been warning Bush to lay off. If Bush attacks him, then Dean is going to show no mercy. He's going to hit back hard. And he's cultivated this image of a scrapper, a tough guy, short little guy, stocky but it doesn't matter, he's going to take on all comers, he can take and deliver a punch.

Yet when he's the object of relatively mild attacks by the Democrats, Dean shows that he's weak and needs protection and puts out an APB for McAwful to protect him. I found it all very revealing, and it was entirely predictable that in the aftermath of his plaintive cry for help, the other Democrat candidates for president would act like sharks that smell blood in the water, and they did.

The second thing, Dr. Dean is in danger of losing the one appealing quality he allegedly has and that's authenticity. I say allegedly because he's one of these - his supporters think -- 'well, this guy, no end to this, he's just great, he's authentic.' That's how they explain his gaffes. You tell me that Bush knew about this before 9-11, and I'm going to tell you I might believe you. Saudis told Bush to get out of Washington. I tell you I might believe you. That's authentic, that's how they defend these guys.

His various comments about religion, first how the Democrats should not get in a values debate about God, gays, and guns. Oh, speaking of that, turns out that some of his original supporters are from the very affluent and militant gay community. Affluent and militant gay sector of the Democratic Party. More on that as the program unfolds.

He said a few months ago, "I don't think that religion ought to be part of American policy." And then his newfound willingness to talk, only in the South though, about Jesus, appears to be pandering and cynical, maybe even craven. And then there was that line that James Carville used about him, Dr. No and that he needs to learn the glory of the unspoken thought.

Third, Dean's reputation as being a straight talker has been damaged by his lack of straight talk. Let me just give you one ongoing example, and there are many. His continuing refusal to open up his records when he was governor. Dean promised he'd do so when Bush did and when it turned out that Bush has revealed his records, Dean balked. Lieberman and John F-ing Kerry were effective in making that case during yesterday's debate. The problem is nobody saw it.

Fourth, based on his public comments, at least it appears as though Dr. Dean has more animus for President Bush than he does for either Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden. Now, this is astonishing. It's astonishing that Dean would throw out - he did it on a public broadcast, National Public Radio, the government-funded NPR - sorry, my friends, don't think of them much. NPR. He threw out on NPR the wholly unsubstantiated charge that President Bush was told in advance about September 11th and the attacks then but when speaking about bin Laden, who claims credit - I mean bin Laden is out there proudly claiming credit for those attacks - Dean is most concerned that we not prejudge bin Laden's case. I mean, this is amazing when he said this.

I wouldn't prejudge bin Laden, there's nothing that tells me bin Laden is guilty. Bin Laden is out there claiming credit for it. This is the guy that thinks Bush knew about it in advance but we've got to not prejudge bin Laden. And of course these kooks at MoveOn.org and all these Dean supporters, yay, that's our man! They're nuts.

I tell you what, if you are one who has trouble controlling your emotions, particularly anger and rage, let the average Democrat today be a lesson for you. You run the risk of becoming exactly as loony and kooky as they have become. I can't even relate to it. I have never been as mad as these people are, nor for as long, I don't know how they sustain it. The normal human being doesn't have this reservoir of emotion. I mean you can only keep this level of emotion fever pitch up for so long and then you run out. The reservoir is empty. These people, I think, it's one of the things that Dean keeps stoking it, you know, Dean keeps stoking their anger and keeps them up there, and I'm going to tell you, they have to have it.

These people cannot live today without this rage and anger. It's almost like they've become addicted to it and they can't get rid of it and they don't want to get rid of it, and if they don't feel angry and if they don't feel seething with rage then they're not happy. These people are the most miserably happy people I've ever seen, or happily miserable people I've ever seen, and Dean is stoking these people and keeping them at this fevered pitch.

It's increasingly clear also to me, a very seasoned observer, ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Dean not very good when speaking on his feet. He makes mistake after mistake. Soviet Union instead of Russia, Book of Job in the New Testament he says, his comment that he supposes the fall of Saddam would be a good thing for the people of Iraq, his statement about Confederate flags on pickup trucks, on and on and on, I mean the list is too long to mention here. And he says he has a tendency to mouth off. I think it's just that he's not ready for prime time.

Listen to this. This is Howard Dean in the current issue of Time magazine. Quote, this whole thing is a Howard Dean statement. "I'm intuitive, and I jump steps ahead. Part of what gets me in trouble on the stump is I shorthand things. I know what I'm thinking but I don't say every word of it. I was that way as a doctor. I eliminate possibilities unconsciously before they get to my consciousness. It's also part of my political judgment. I often know I want to do things before I know why, although the thinking goes on all the time.

The way I think is, if you give me information, I tuck it back somewhere and I work on it and work on it and work on it without being aware of it and then all of the sudden ten months later something will pop out based on a whole series of things that I've learned in the last ten months and finally all of a sudden it falls into place." Howard Dean, quote, unquote, explaining how his mind works. Charles Krauthammer had it right. Krauthammer said I went to medical school with guys like this. They're never wrong, they don't ever think they make a mistake and they think they're the smartest people in the room.