RUSH: Okay, there’s so much wrong with what Jon Meacham said about my trip to the White House at the invitation of President Bush 41. But let’s go through the things here that are just, in a sentence-after-sentence way, correct. “Rush Limbaugh’s becoming more of a force.” I already was, but so what. “Limbaugh endorses Pat Buchanan in the 1992 primary, so what does Bush do? He invites Limbaugh to the White House.” That’s not why I was invited to the White House. I was invited to the White House in June of 1992. The Republican primary was over; Buchanan was not a factor.
It was Ross Perot who was the factor, and it was Ross Perot that was the reason I was invited to the White House. I did endorse Buchanan way, way, way back, and for one stated reason. And Buchanan, by the way, won the New Hampshire primary. That’s what scared everybody. I endorse Buchanan, he wins New Hampshire, and everybody says, “Oh, my God!” They started gulping. And I did it for one reason. Do you remember what it was, Snerdley? (interruption) I wanted conservatism in the debate, exactly. I wanted conservatism in the Republican primary.
Bush was a sitting president. He had run in 1988 on the concept of being Reagan’s third term. We had had the “Read my lips: No new taxes.” We had had a bunch of things that had gone down that were not good, and was simply… When endorsing Buchanan, had no idea or thought that Buchanan was gonna win. I simply suggested Buchanan, because I wanted his candidacy to survive more than a couple of weeks so that there is would be conservatism in the Republican Party primary debate process. Pure and simple. But by the time I was invited the White House, the Republican presidential nomination was a fait accompli, and Bush had it sewn up.
That is not why I was invited. And we never discussed Pat Buchanan once! Not a single time. What was being discussed was Ross Perot and things in general. Now, the visit, Bush carrying my bags, I’ll tell you what happened. I got to the White House. I went with a friend. We got there, and I was told — it was a weekday night — we’re gonna have dinner, and then we’re gonna go to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with President and Mrs. Bush and come back to the White House, chew the fat, and then I was to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom (all of which happened) and then leave the next day.
