http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/01/29/we_re_tired_of_gotcha_debatesWe're Tired of Gotcha Debates
January 29, 2016
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RUSH: This is Greg in Oakhurst, California. It's great to have you on the program, sir. Hello. You're up first today.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. Longtime listener, 24/7 member, been listening for 25 years and I appreciate what you do and thanks for taking my call.
RUSH: You bet, sir.
CALLER: Listen, I was just so upset with Megyn Kelly last night. I watch Fox News a lot, and, you know, it's the first time that I can remember any network ever showing videotape of the candidates and then asking them to respond to themselves. And she did that to both Rubio and Cruz, and I guess you could say she did it because they are the leading two candidates at this point without Trump there. But the thing that I was so upset about was when she asked Cruz to respond to what his video showed, she said (paraphrasing), "Were you acting then or was that just an act?"
And then when he responded she tried to act like, Oh, no, I've got you here." And then immediately afterwards, on her show, if you were watching Fox and stayed with 'em, on her show more than once she said when he responded and gave the same answer, she said, "You're right, you're right, I did some heavy research," I think is what she said, "I did some heavy research into that, and you're absolutely right," and she conceded the point that he made during the debate. Now, during the debate there was a much larger audience, of course, than for her show, so she tried to show that she could stick him, she could really get him, but then during her show she conceded that he was correct.
RUSH: Yes. Yes, I'm quite aware of this, the fact that this happened. Not surprised you're upset about it. Not surprised it's the first call we're getting today about this. Because I've had any number of people reacting the way you have and even making the point okay, fine, so she finally figured it out and announced that he was right, but long after 90% of the audience was gone.
CALLER: Right, exactly. And listen, Rush, I'm a Rubio supporter because I feel that he's got the best chance of beating Hillary, unless she's indicted, of course, which I hope, but I like Cruz more, I like his positions more, but I believe that Rubio is the person who can beat Hillary. And she went after both of them, but really, even though I'm supporting Rubio, I wouldn't be disappointed, as I said, if Cruz got the nomination. But even though she went after both of them, she really tried to nail Cruz, and then admitted that he was right later. So hypocritical. You know, it's very upsetting.
RUSH: Well, that's the larger point here is that I've had it said to me if once it's been 10 times, that people are a little worn out with these debates ending up being debates between the moderators and the candidates, not the debates between the candidates and the candidates themselves. And it comes across as gotcha. And of course the moderators say, "No, our job is to vet these people for you. Our job is to expose them."
Let me tell you something, Greg, for better or worse, what you saw last night is what journalism is taught to do and be. That's journalism. That's how it's taught. That's how it's practiced, and that's how people in it judge whether or not somebody's good at it. Can you expose a hypocrite? Can you speak truth to power? Can you destroy a powerful person who wants to have all kinds of power over the American people? Can you expose them as frauds, or whatever else. That becomes, and in many ways it always has been, what journalism really is. That's why I make jokes over the years about it. If you want to climb the ladder in journalism go destroy the local guy in your town and the Washington Post might hear about it and hire you.
CALLER: Yes. Am I still on?
RUSH: Yeah, you're still on.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, I want to tell you real quick, I used to work for NBC News in Burbank, California, for over 20 years. And this goes back to Herbert Walker Bush. He said something about Dukakis during their campaign, and it was something about the military, and Dukakis demanded an apology, he was so upset about it, he wanted to get Herbert Walker Bush to apologize to the troops. And Bush had a press conference or a press availability the next day and was speaking to people at a rally. And I was in the NBC take-in room where all the feeds come in, okay, from the satellites. And I watched the whole thing, it went on for about a half an hour.
Herbert Walker Bush held up the dictionary and then he quoted what he had said and gave an eloquent defense of what he said and said why he was not going to apologize to Dukakis. So after it was all cut and they sent the feed to New York, the videotape to New York, the reporter didn't allow Bushes words to be spoken at all. Instead it was a voice-over and the reporter said, "Even with the help of a dictionary --" and of course though showed pictures of Bush holding up the dictionary "-- even with the help of a dictionary, President Bush could not explain why he wouldn't apologize to Dukakis."
RUSH: Hey, it's the same network that doctored the 911 calls in the George Zimmerman case. We know.
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