I do hope more folks here have had an opportunity to listen to Rush’s first 20 minutes. I think the facts he is relaying are far more important than the flip-flopping template being pursued here. (Besides, Romney never said Dole was a bad guy.)
The facts are these:
1. The Bob Dole letter was a private letter to Rush.
2. It was a very respectful letter, not a scolding letter as some in the media are portraying it.
3. The letter was provided to the media by the McCain campaign (a Dole associate has since written Rush and told him that Dole did not release the letter to the media).
4. Dole does not endorse McCain in the letter, as McCain and company have suggested. (On Hannity & Colmes last night, Dole said he had not made a primary election endorsement).
Rush condemned this as a McCain campaign dirty trick, he said Romney did not personally disparage Dole on Fox this morning but criticized his 1996 campaign, and that McCain is now using Hillary Clinton’s tactics — i.e., raising his military background and feigning offense the way Hillary uses her gender wherever possible.
Rush said it was McCain, not Romney, who was abusing Dole. He added that his own father was a hero during World War II and neither his father nor Dole would talk about it. McCain, on the other hand, can’t stop bringing it up now.