I heard the following on Rush Limbaugh. However, the way I got the text was in an email from Delegate Bob Marshall. Since Marshall actually does not send out that many emails, it seems apparent this caller on the Rush Limbaugh show got to him.
Below is the transcript of a dad with a Down Syndrome child ttelling Rush Limbaugh listeners of his Sept. 9 meeting with Gov. Sarah Palin in Pennsylvania (and link for pictures). Delegate Bob Marshall
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Kurt in Pittsburgh, hello, sir. Nice to have you on the EIB Network, and how about the Steelers defense?
CALLER: How about those Steelers, huh?
RUSH: How about that?
CALLER: Hey, listen, Rush, longtime listener, first-time caller, one of those Bible, family, gun clingers from western Pennsylvania.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: And I wanted to share a story with you. A week ago last Saturday we went to the Palin-McCain rally in Washington, Pennsylvania, was the day after he announced her, and we have a five-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and we made a sign that said: ‘We Love Kids with Down Syndrome.’ So when they pulled in in their bus the sign did catch their, McCain and Palin and the rest of their family, it caught their eye, we could tell, they gave us a thumbs-up from the bus, so we were all excited just by that –
RUSH: Wait, wait, wait. Who gave you the thumbs up, McCain and Palin?
CALLER: McCain, Palin, Cindy McCain, we could see them from the bus. We were in a position where we had eye contact with them –
RUSH: Oh, cool!
CALLER: My wife was hold ing our daughter.
RUSH: Very, very, very cool.
CALLER: It was really cool, Rush. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,’ because I love Governor Palin and so I thought that’s really neat. So then we moved around as the bus was getting ready to pull out, we kind of positioned ourselves so we could just wave them on and a Secret Service agent came up to us and said, ‘Hey, can you come with us?’ I was like, ‘Do we have a choice?’
RUSH: (laughing) You shouldn’t have worried. It’s not the Clinton administration.
CALLER: Right. So we accompanied them up the hill, we went right to the bus, where it was, and Governor Palin, Senator McCain, Cindy, Todd Palin, they’re all standing there. We’re in this inner circle with just us and them, and the Secret Service agent, and they came right up to us and thanked us for coming out, said they loved our sign, and Governor Palin immediately said, ‘May I hold your daughter?’ and our daughter Chloe, who’s five, went right to her, and I have some pictures I’d love to send you maybe when I’m done here, but Governor Palin was hugging Chloe, and then her little daughter brought their baby Trig who has Down syndrome from the bus, he was napping, and Chloe went right over and kissed him on the cheek, and my son Nolan who’s nine, he thanked her.
RUSH: This is amazing.
CALLER: I will send you all the stuff, Senator McCain was talking to my son, and we thanked him for his service, and he asked my son if he wanted to see the bus, and we were hanging out and it was very surreal. I felt like we could have had a pizza and a beer with them, they were so warm.
RUSH: You know what? I want to p ut you on hold. I want Snerdley to give you our super-secret, known-only-to-three-people here, e-mail address.
CALLER: I will send you everything, Rush.
RUSH: And then could you send us these pictures? Would you mind if we put them on the website?
CALLER: I would be honored, and my main thing is they are warm, kind, genuine people, and they represent the best of this country.
RUSH: That’s right. And when you send these pictures, make sure you identify them. I mean, we’ll know Palin and McCain, of course. Identify yourselves.
CALLER: I will, I will identify everybody in the picture, Rush, and God bless you for being a beacon of hope and truth in this country.
RUSH: Oh, no, no. It’s nothing, it’s nothing. You’re doing the Lord’s work.
CALLER: Well, we’re very blessed and I want people to know what a blessing it is to have a child with Down syndrome. These kids, they’re angels.
RUSH: That’s the thing. There’s always good to be found in everything that happens. It may be a while before it reveals itself.
CALLER: Absolutely.
RUSH: Right, and when she hugged my daughter I said, here’s the difference, this candidate embraces life and all its limitless possibilities.
RUSH: All right.
CALLER: That’s what she is.
RUSH: Terrific, okay, I gotta run here, but I’m going to put you on hold.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush.
RUSH: Thank you, Kurt. I really appreciate it.
Pictures at: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_090908/content/01125113.guest.html
I will admit – I am still undecided in this election. One thing that I have admired about Sarah Palin is the fact that she has used the fact that her child has special needs as a way to get votes. I’ve worked with children with special needs for 11 years now and children with Down Syndrome are very near and dear to me. Good for her for taking the time to meet with the family and listen to them -
Concerned about Amnesty – I would phrase it a bit differently. I would not say Palin has used her child’s condition to get votes. Instead, I think Palin has introduced us to her family.
Most managers are risk adverse. In politics, family connections are what they are. With the exception of who we marry, we do not have much choice in our relations. When a candidate is running for Vice President, that candidate can do little to shelter his or her family from the news media. All the candidate can do is let us know how he or she feels about family.
What Palin has shown us is that she has accepted a life challenge as a gift from God. She has shown us how attitude makes a difference.
Sorry – I meant to say that she HASN’T used her child to get votes – that’s why I admire what she has done. I agree that she has definitely shown what family means.
And I guess these GOOD comments for Palin make her a great leader? Remember that McCain is old, she will have to run the country if he falls ill or DEAD! COME ON! Are we electing a leader or a person that will roll over like Bush does for Cheney?
uNdEsIdEd – The short answer is yes. Character does make a difference.