Screw America: who'd be best president for talk radio?
It's a given that election years are good for talk radio. And that 2008 is a presidential year and the races are close make this year even better for the explaining industry.
The campaign trail started unwinding way early because the nation can't wait to get rid of President Bush. Another mitzvah for talk radio.
When Bill Clinton won in 1992, Rush Limbaugh rejoiced: he used to say that without the Clinton presidency, there might never have been a Limbaugh monarchy. Even after Dumbo took the White House in 2001, right-wing radio flogged the Clintons for years after and still do, as recently we have seen vividly.
Right-wing radio has declined while they were in the majorit
y. that's because they were forced to regurgitate talking points, and make happy face as conservative principles were trod upon; incompetence was plain to see; Iraq disintegrated, and the Bush presidency crumbled like a Costco snickerdoodle. Hence: left-wing radio got its first toe-hold in the market. (Photo: crumbled Costco chocolate chip cookie, snickerdoodles were not available, at this writing)
(They always fell back on decrying the "hatred," and "desperation," and "bitterness" of the left; chiding us for being negative; being against anything Bush was for; and always seeing the glass as empty. Besides that the glass (and the president's suit) actually was empty, the role of the "loyal opposition" is to tear down the ruling party. During those gloomy days wandering in the desert of the minority, the left did our best to do just that -- and it wasn't always attractive. But we couldn't have torn the Bush administration down any more effectively than it did itself by bad calculations, go-it-alone arrogance, and missed opportunities).
So whose success would make the best talk fodder for the next four years? Let's talk...
~~ If Hillary Clinton were elected, she's a known known, talk
radio knows what to do... hell, they've been doin' it to her and Bill
for 15 years. Sean Hannity started in on her 2008 candidacy the day
after the 2004 election. Talk radio might be a little bored with it,
but there's a playbook already on the shelf. The so-called mainstream
media has joined talk the chorus. Here's the meme: she's a conniving
bitch, a far-left socialist, a racist, an opportunist without ethics;
she's a hard line fmeinist too dependant on her 
husband. She's too emotional/she's cold; too hard/too soft; too
mean/too vulnerable. Too much Washington experience/not enough
governing experience. She is a woman/she is a man. She is a woman.
President Hillary would be good for talk radio.
Saint President Barack Obama could
maintain his "everything is beautiful, so can't we all just get along?"
mantra; it'd surely be the death of talk radio. Since that's impossible
in the real world, watch for a creative new reeking pile of scorn out
of the shit machine. At present, they're loving to depict him as the
hapless victim of the Vicious Clinton Machine. But if he's nominated,
they'll have to learn how to tip-toe through the minefield of race
--but not to worry, once they figure that out, they'll frame him as
Senator Moonbeam- the druggy idealog without any experience.
Presumably, if he's been elected, that means he'll have c
ome up with something more substantive than liberal "inspirational"
atmospherics. At present, he's like the Sphinx: righty radio talkers
(or the rest of us) don't know where he's at -- some claim he's far to
the left of Hillary, some say he's more moderate. If the latter is
true, they'll frame him as a far-left socialist; if the former is true,
they'll frame him as a far-left socialist. The conundrum with Obama is
that there's the exciting possibility he could win in a landslide, and
the depressing but equal one that he could be landslid on. If
the former was true, it'd call for a new, more nuanced game plan for
talk radio, and talk radio has never been very good at nuance. Maybe
Obama could help attract the young to talk radio, but other than that,
an Obama presidency, especially if he was elected with a good margin,
wouldn't be good for talk radio ...
President John McCain would be a problem for the radio
talkocracy. With the exception of Michael Medved, they've already done
everything they can to pull him down. Bridges have been burned. What
would it be like for a Republican to be elected that came short of
tRush Limbaugh's righteous ideological purity? We
'd can't imagine. If it didn't mean having to suffer the warmongering
McCain, we'd love to watch such a thing. McCain in the White House
would be as difficult for talk radio as it would be for the Republican
Party. We stick by our prediction that conservatives aren't smart
enough to nominate McCain whom we (and everyone else) thinks is the
only Republican who has a chance. McCain: bad for talk radio.
~~ Right-wing radio would have a field day with President John Edwards, as they already have. The haircut, the "Breck Girl," thing fostered on the radio, sunk him for
months in the early campaign, and he never really recovered. The
seeming contradiction of his personal wealth, and his economic
populism, is too easy to lampoon. They already despise him. Not sure
what he did to Bill O'Reilly, but The Big Fat Head has excoriated him en
dlessly as a liar and a charlatan for months. Limbaugh scorned him out of the gate. John Edwards would be great for talk radio.
~~ Can conservatism and talk radio survive another lovable fuck-up? We think not, and that's why we believe a President Giuliani could
mean the end of talk radio. We couldn't believe he was serious about
running for president, but when he discarded the toupee, we knew:
here's an ego that would bomb Iran just to show his next girlfriend he
has stones. If elected,
it would spell a deeply fractured GOP except with Fox News, Sean
Hannity, and Billo Reilly giving him the same come-hell-or-high-water
blowjobs they've been giving Bush. Despite kissing the impotent Pat
Robertson's ring Rudy has been a terrible candidate marginalized by
scandals, and hasn't been viable no matter what Roger Ailes and Sean
Hannity have done. But make no mistake: all his peckerdilloes and
crony-istic, chump-change NYC scandals haven't been daylighted; and
they definitely would be if he were chance elected. The popeyed,
warmongering President Rudy would be terrible for partisan talk radio,
but it would be definitely fun to watch.
~~ You have to stretch your credulity muscle (you might try LSD) to imagine a Ron Paul presidency. But can you picture conservative talk radio trying to stick up for him as he tries to kill Social Secu
rity and Medicare? Or as he gets under the hood of the Constitution in an attempt to eliminate the income
tax, the federal reserve, the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Again, it would
be fun to watch -- getting rid of such things is where
conservative heart is; but these "socialistic" programs like Social
Security and Medicare are extremely popular and taken for granite in
this country. We hope that if the crotchety little yelper were elected,
he'd be able to buy shirts that fit his scrawny little neck. Ron Paul:
bad for talk radio, great for comedy.
~~ President Romney would suit talk radio just fine. As slippery as tapioca and just as bland; he'd be a solid 
business Republican who wouldn't scare the livestock; be competent enough that Big Pants, Hannity, and Billo could fellate him w
ithout looking silly as they did sucking on Bush. Mitt Romney would be good for talk radio.
~~ Prez Huck-A-Bee would be more fun for talk radio than a mailbox full of
muskrats. His earnest, big-eyed promises; what-would-Jesus-do
platitudes; national sales tax (which would also take a Constitutional
amendment) andpropensity f 
or
dumb-ass foot-in-mouth insertions would make longtime listeners into
first time callers faster than if Sean Hannity turned gay. Huck-A-Bee
is despised by every right-wing ta
lk host, and the Republican establishment. This would make the formerly
portly pastor great for talk radio.
We must ask: Is what's good for talk radio bad for America?
If this is all that we could come up with as Republicans or Democrats, than we are fucked.
Hillary is corrupt, Obama is a green pea novice, Giuliani is a moron, Edwards is a lawyer, McCain is goofy, Ron Paul could be the poster boy for the Cartoon Network, Huckleberry wants to screw with the Constitution and Romney is , well I don't know we he is, but he is no better than the rest of 'um.
With Pelosi and Reid running the two houses and any one of the above, we are gonna take it in the donkey with no KY.
And worse than that, my local Costco does not carry snickerdoodles!!!!!
But talk radio will survive. Gotta have something to listen to while we post this crap.
Posted by: chucks | January 29, 2008 at 05:09 PM
McCain just won Florida, What oh what will Rush Limbaugh do?
Posted by: mick | January 29, 2008 at 06:27 PM
So did Mrs Clinton! I know, I know, no delegates, however a great roller-coaster boost going into super Tuesday.
Posted by: Duffman | January 29, 2008 at 06:31 PM
As soon as Mrs Clinton is elected POTUS, I think I'll tune in to the Rush Limbaugh Show...it should be very interesting to hear what he has to say initially. It may cause him to retire...let's hope. :)
Posted by: Duffman | January 29, 2008 at 06:40 PM
You've got to be kidding...Rush would be orgasmic at the idea of bashing Clintons again. They are his life-blood.
Posted by: sparky | January 29, 2008 at 07:09 PM
McCain is a liberal. I suspect he would be real popular on this blog. If he gets the nomination I'll vote for a third party candidate.
Posted by: BART | January 29, 2008 at 07:14 PM
McCain may be a lib, but he beats both Hillary and Obama in the match-up polls. Thaty's because he's got the Mexican after his amnesty bill.
Posted by: NYLucky | January 29, 2008 at 07:17 PM
Cool, another vote for Mrs Clinton...I'm lovin it. :)
Posted by: Duffman | January 29, 2008 at 07:18 PM
what about Air America. Already on life support, will they go belly-up if, as most of us expect, Dems control Sen, House, & WH in 2009? What will they talk about with Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld, Rove, Halliburton, and Blackwater out of the picture?
Posted by: wutitiz | January 29, 2008 at 07:31 PM
This post my Mr. Hood proves that while he despises Rush, he is a regular listener.
Posted by: hypo-mike | January 29, 2008 at 07:32 PM
I just wanna know....When will the trial start for the accused killer of Mike Webb and will BlaterWatch be required to give testimony? This blog was a factor in his death, yes?
Posted by: justiceman | January 29, 2008 at 07:33 PM
You've got to love our system. No matter who is in control, it is a given that the party out of power holds the moral high ground. What does that say about our gov't???
Posted by: wutitiz | January 29, 2008 at 07:34 PM
What part of 'Listening To Talk Radio So You Don't Have To' don't you understand.
Posted by: Duffman | January 29, 2008 at 07:35 PM
Hood's headline, "Screw America" says it all around here.
Posted by: Sam | January 29, 2008 at 07:39 PM
Some of you need more fiber in your diet.
Posted by: sparky | January 29, 2008 at 07:51 PM
Obama has the big MO - Mrs. Clinton does not. However, it will continue to be a hard fought campaign, with Obama winning the nod at the convention. Too many people know what the Clinton's are about, Duff and their politics of personal destruction is blowing up more in their face - oh well.
The Clinton machine is sputtering and coming apart at the seems. John McCain has the upper hand on the other side - he is a centrist, not a liberal. He is a fiscal conservative, way more so than Bush. McCain vs. Clinton would interesting but doubt that it will happen - McCain vs. Obama appears more likely.
Posted by: KS | January 29, 2008 at 09:00 PM
If McCain gets elected, Rush will diminish. That ought to excite alot of Blatherwatch regulars. If either Hillary or Obama get in, Air America will fizzle and Rush will boom. Yeah, I know - Life isn't fair.
Posted by: KS | January 29, 2008 at 09:05 PM
You know, the comments - starting with yours chucks - reveal an awful lot of ignorance, stupidity and superficiality.
Any Republican should be glad to get Clinton. She was a Republican once. She is Mrs. Wall Street. And She loves the military. All reasons that I - as a good lib - don't want her.
Do you people on the right know what you want? Is it possible that you are such sheep and so governed by radio hate-talk that you don't even recognize one of your own?
No, George Bush was and is and always will be the prototype president for you. Just like with Shrub, you'll ignore or never even clue into the fact that you like Decider-types with just enough education to barely speak English but enough elbow flexibility to have a beer over the back fence with you.
And, if you're lucky enough to be his neighbor, you might even end up as Secretary of State or the next Supreme Court Justice.
After all, with the kind of President for whom you guys would vote, being one of the guys is certainly a better resume than being smart, hard working and compassionate.
What losers you are. Exceptin' doffo. He knows what he wants: health care. I fear, doffo, you're going to be disappointed.
Posted by: joanie | January 29, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Some of the predictions seem dubious, but it's a given that once the unnamed Democrat wins, conservative talkers are going to have a second gilded age not seen since the late 90's playing the victim and hosting a bunch of scared thumb sucking rednecks who need to be told that liberals have a mental dissorder and that Jesus will return for them. But good for them, they had a lot of fun sniffing Clintons underwear and I'm sure they will again.
Posted by: AuthenticAndrew | January 29, 2008 at 11:34 PM
...with just enough education to barely speak English ...
Make that just enough education to remind you all of yourselves...
That's what you want, some who reminds you of you...
Libs aspire to more. Trust me.
Posted by: joanie | January 29, 2008 at 11:47 PM
Limbaugh is the Planck constant of talk radio. Rush will maintain his phenomenal ratings regardless of who occupies the White House. Rush is a force of nature immune to the vagaries of political tides.
Posted by: abob | January 30, 2008 at 01:55 AM
Joanie,
If you didn't exist we would have to invent you.
The careful reader will note the Seattle Skeddadle in action. See "Talk Radio: more than a dial tone."
It is refreshing that Joanie finally figured out what electing a Clinton will mean for liberals. It finally seeped in. Since Joanie isn't a fan of Obama it's unlikely that she'll be pleased come November.
Posted by: PugetSound | January 30, 2008 at 04:46 AM
"He knows what he wants: health care. I fear, doffo, you're going to be disappointed."
I sincerely hope you're wrong Ms joanie...I figure she's our best chance.
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 05:31 AM
Alert: sorry joanie I just heard your Breck boy is droppin out!!
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 06:24 AM
Mr. Blather makes an interesting point about McCain. If McCain wins, it will be interesting to see how both talk radio handles it. Not only that, but how will MSM react?
MSM has always had a love affair w/ McCain, but I can't see that surviving past the inauguration, not with that scarlet 'R' attached to his name.
I got a chance to listen to the Rush repeat last night working night shift, and Rush is just merciless towards McCain. Rush has some talent w/ voices, and his impersonation of McCain is pretty vicious. Maybe Rush wishes to set himself up as antagonist regardless of who wins.
Incidentally, a caller on Rush claimed that McCain is saying privately that he only wishes one term, which of course would make his VP choice interesting.
Posted by: wutitiz | January 30, 2008 at 06:43 AM
Duff, any word on Breck's endorsement? That could be pretty big.
Posted by: wutitiz | January 30, 2008 at 06:46 AM
Nothin yet..must be brokerin' a deal...
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 06:47 AM
No doubt. If I had to bet I would bet that he'll go w/ Hillary. I figure that with her braintrust & experience at dealmaking she's better equipped to come up w/ the 'offer he can't refuse.'
Posted by: wutitiz | January 30, 2008 at 06:55 AM
Sounds reasonable...I don't care for him. [He was probably the favorite of many herein] I think I've gotten solicitation E-Mails from every frickin member of his family...hopefully that will now end. :)
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 07:00 AM
Prediction: After 710KIRO gets the comments part of their blog enabled, they'll have to disable it after a few weeks or months.
Best president for talk radio would be Obama. He'd also be the best president for America.
Posted by: DT | January 30, 2008 at 07:51 AM
Dittos on that DT, based on experience w/ the PI 'soundoff' (comment feature) it will be virtually worthless within a short time. KIRO would be wise to have some kind of screening mechanism just as with on-air calls.
Posted by: wutitiz | January 30, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Dori "Moose" Monson the other day was laughing at Tyra Banks and mocking her interview with John Edwards, with belittling comments based on his perceptions (erroneous, in my opinion) of her airhead status. Who has the national, bigtime show Dori? You or her? Also, ranting primarily during the week about taxes and perverts with disgusting but legal websites, while advocating that people "beat the crap" out of such fellows, and then yukking it up about footbal with ex-jock morons for three or four hours a pop is hardly the stuff that intellectals are made of. I'll bet Tyra has a higher IQ than Monson.
Posted by: Tommy008 | January 30, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Hey, I thought this blog prided itself on (aside from character assassination, publication of unfounded rumor, etc.) breaking Seattle newstalk radio news. So how did ya'll miss this scoop?
(Not that it matters, but I saw this coming many months ago, as any astute observer of Seattle newstalk radio would have, I'm confident.)
www.RadioactiveSeattle.blogspot.com
Sincerely,
BRYAN STYBLE/Seattle
Posted by: Bryan Styble | January 30, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Sorry to hear that Bryan; I wish you the best...I'm sure there's a niche out there somewhere for you.
Good Luck!
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Too bad about Bryan Styble leaving KIRO. Although I disagree with his politics his show was a good one due to the strength of his vocabulary and knowledge of issues. He also allows people to call in without screening out opposing views. The only other show that doesn't screen callers as far as I know is Ed Schultz. Good luck Bryan on you future endeavours.
I don't think I can handle another four or eight years of Clinton hate talk spewing from right wing radio. Now that Edwards is out (dang, I was planning to caucus for him - now I don't even think I will go) I hope Obama will make it so the rushes of the world will have to give up their favorite pastime of bashing Billary.
Posted by: thothman | January 30, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Bryan, I don't believe the person who runs this site listens to very much talk radio anymore. I believe he has admitted as much. He also has said he is trying to make this site into something more than a local talk radio blog. I believe he said he wants to be more like the Horses Ass blog, and comment on politics and news stories, which is his right. But the focus of this blog, despite the what the title and subtitle says, is no longer local talk radio.
Posted by: DT | January 30, 2008 at 01:39 PM
OMG, what's this do to the MTS blog? There goes 1/2 the subject matter. Oh well, just got the latest news there that Thompson had dropped out. :)
Posted by: Duffman | January 30, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Sad but true, Bla'm Fam: "Styble Loves Seattle Always"
*tear*
And just in time for Black History Month! (coincidence?)
I'll miss you BrySty. The profane emails you sent me still warm my heart.
Keep it real.
Posted by: mercifurious | January 30, 2008 at 02:31 PM
KVI and KIRO are in a race to see who can become more irrelevant, faster.
Seattle itself is in a bloated, stultified phase, and in such an ecology Bryan was the one who was too beautiful to live. Bryan was born to broadcast, however.
My suggestion would be to find a boomtown somewhere, maybe an expat community somewhere better able to sync with his energy and curiosity.
Posted by: wutitiz | January 30, 2008 at 06:04 PM