Bill Clinton MADE Rush? PUUUHHLEEEEEZ!!!!

Taking over the aircraft's controls, the instructor pilot presses the intercom button.

"I've got it, Jones. Let's see that approach one more time. Just remember not to chase the needles once you're inside the Marker."

"Roger, Lieutenant."

While the student sets up his navigation radios for another ILS Runway 18 Instrument Approach, the instructor flies the published Missed Approach Procedure - flying a predetermined course and altitude away from the airport.

The tower controller comes over the UHF radio: "3-ECHO-FOX, FLY THE PUBLISHED MISSED AND CONTACT APPROACH ON TWO-SEVEN-FOUR-POINT-ONE."

"3-ECHO-FOX IS SWITCHING. "

"In close, small, easy corrections are all it takes. Nothing big, okay Jones?" The pilot levels the aircraft at 3,000 feet, flying the runway heading of 180 degrees magnetic.

After switching to the Approach frequency, the instructor keys the UHF mike.

"APPROACH, THIS IS 3-ECHO-FOX, ON THE MISSED. WE'D LIKE ONE MORE ILS APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18."

"ROGER, 3-ECHO-FOX, TURN LEFT HEADING ZERO-NINER-ZERO AND CLIMB TO FIVE-THOUSAND. LOCAL WEATHER REMAINS THE SAME, ALTIMETER THREE-ZERO-ZERO-TWO."

The student finishes his approach setup.

"All right, Lieutenant. I'm ready for the aircraft, now."

With that, the instructor hands the controls back to the student.

"You've got the controls."

"Roger, sir, I've got the controls."

"WILCO, APPROACH, 3-ECHO-FOX IS COMING LEFT TO ZERO-NINER-ZERO, CLIMBING TO FIVE-THOUSAND FEET."

The student pushes the throttles forward, pitches the aircraft up for the climb, and starts to turn the aircraft toward the new heading. Checking his watch, the instructor punches the navigation radio select button for "ADF." Hearing the distinctive thumping of the baseline in the opening bars of Back to Ohio, he stifles a slight smile.

"Right on time."

The year is 1990 and The Flying Curmudgeon is a military instructor pilot. Like most other days, TFC is teaching a student pilot the basics of Radio Instrument Navigation, that is, how to fly his aircraft without the benefit of being able to see outside - a requirement for all military (and commercial) pilots.

Frequently, when there was a lull in a training flight between 12:00 and 3:00, TFC would tune his ADF Nav radio to the AM band, and listen to Rush Limbaugh's program.

(With the repeal of the "Fairness Doctrine" the previous year, on 1 August, 1988, Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio program premiered on over 300 radio stations. As the loyal readers of TheFlyingCurmudgeon surely are aware, the "Fairness Doctrine" held that radio stations had to provide free air time for responses to controversial opinions that they broadcast. This policy made a show like Rush's impossible prior to the doctrine's repeal.)

It was TFC's father that first introduced him to Rush and, initially, he wasn't sure he liked the show or not. What Rush was saying was so bold, so innovative, and so close to TFC's own deeply held convictions, that it was a bit shocking to hear.

No one else was saying the things Rush said.

For the most part, nowhere else in the "mainstream media," either print or broadcast, could a conservative viewpoint be found. With their traditional leftward bent and their monopoly on the dissemination of ideas, (except for the rare conservative organ like National Review), the mainstream media needed a little "Fairness Doctrine" applied to them.

Along came Rush Limbaugh. As Rush used to frequently remind his audience: "I AM equal time."

Before Rush was syndicated, there was nobody else saying the kinds of things he did. And boy, the way he said them...

"Dadalump-dadalump-dadalump-dadalump (Andy Williams begins singing)...'Born Free...as free as the wind blows...as free as the grass grows...Born free to follow your heart...Live free...(sounds of rifle fire)...and beauty surrounds you...(sounds of screaming)...The world still astounds you...(more rifle fire)...Each time...you look at a star...(more screaming)...' That's right, folks, its time for another Animal Rights Update..."

Or it could be Paul Anka singing: "You're having my baby...what a lovely way of saying how much you love me..." in order to introduce an Abortion Rights Update. This song REALLY used to tweak our friends on the left.

How Rush loves to tweak the Left.

With this kind of humor and wit, and his unashamed support for conservative principles, it did not take long before The Flying Curmudgeon was a loyal Dittohead.

And TFC was not alone.

Rush's audience share continued to grow, geometrically, until today, he is on over 600 radio stations throughout the country, (as well as Armed Forces radio, which BTW, did not occur without a fight, TFC would add - something for another post perhaps?), and has a weekly listening audience on the order of 20 million.

No one else in radio even comes close to that number.

Thanks to Rush leading the way, however, there are now a number of conservative radio and television programs out there and this fact continues to drive the Left crazy. Their monopoly is gone forever, and they know it. Which is why there have been recent attempts to revisit the Fairness Doctrine.

(Okay, Mr. The Flying Curmudgeon, what's your point?)

The point is, OF COURSE, Rush is an entertainer. If he weren't, nobody would listen to his show.

To his loyal listeners, however, and to those that tirelessly seek to undermine his influence, he is so much more. (Can you say "Dingy Harry?")

But the idea that Bill Clinton MADE Rush? http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/12/a_huckabee_ally_on_el_rushbo.php

PUUUHHLEEEEEZZZ!!!!

Rush was well on his way to "MegaStar" status while Bill was still "busy" back in Arkansas, entertaining young female speeders in the Governor's Mansion.

TFC