...Rush Limbaugh.
So sez the most politically savvy cab driver in Chicago.
Cabbing back from dinner tonight with a couple colleagues. NPR on the radio, as per usual. GOP convention being carried. We're trying to figure out who the generic Repuclican speaker is (Gov. Whatshisname of Ohio as it turns out).
We get to speculating about the super-secret Thursday speaker, in the gently-probing way that co-workers who don't know each others' politics are wont to do. Sarah? Nah, one colleague says, she backed out. Nancy Reagan? Maybe, we agree, but she's pushing it, age-wise, to be a compelling speaker on a made-for-TV occasion. W? Laughter all around. H. W? Nah, says my Houston-based colleague, he has a tough time lasting two innings at Astros games. He's hurting. Jeb? Would they overshadow 2012 with speculation about 2016?
I will tell you who this speaker is, says the cabbie.
We're all ears. Where's this guy going?
It is Rush Limbaugh.
WHAT???
Rush Limbaugh. It was leaked several weeks ago. One time. Mark Levin. You know him?
Yes....
He leaks it, about two weeks ago. He says Rush Limbaugh to be the featured speaker at convention, but he does not go back and say this ever again. One time.
really......
Yes. This is a mistake. Mitt Romney runs too far to the right. He can't win trying to win Tea Party votes.
...
So by now, this is by far the most politically informed conversation I've ever had in a cab. We ask the cabbie what he listens to. NPR?
Everything. NPR, talk radio, internet radio, you must listen to everything to know what's going on.
So there you have it. From my cabbie to your ears. Rush Limbaugh to headline the convention Thursday night.
(BTW, I broke the political ice with my reaction, which was unadulterated glee at the possibility. My colleagues quickly assented :) )