RIGHT-WINGERS: THE WHINING NEVER STOPS

First, Rush Limbaugh looks at the Oprah Winfrey/Barack Obama rallies and whines that he draws big crowds, too, and (stamps foot) the mean old liberal media won't even acknowledge his superiority:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The Drive-Bys and everybody going orgasmic -- I should say, Obasmic -- over The Oprah and the crowd that she drew in South Carolina for Barack Obama, who is a presidential candidate. As you people know, I don't like to make things about me, I really don't. I get embarrassed when the discussion turns to me, but sometimes I am forced into doing so.

... Yeah, yip yip yip yahoo, so 29, 30,000 people show up in South Carolina for The Oprah and Obama. But let's go back to August of 2000. My good friend John Carlson was running for governor on the Republican side in the state of Washington and asked me to come out and join him and Bill Bennett at a campaign rally in Puyallup, and we did, and we had 40,000 people, 40,000 people for a statewide candidate, a gubernatorial candidate, John Carlson, as opposed to a presidential candidate headlined by The Oprah.

... Forty thousand people in a minor league baseball stadium in Puyallup, Washington....

... And the sea of humanity that was out there, it was one of the most -- it was nuts. It was one of the most incredible events I have attended. Forty thousand people. So while they're going on and on and on about how breathtaking and how unique this Oprah and Obama rally was, know full well that there have been larger ones attended by me and Bill Bennett.

Er, Rush? You got no national media attention because that was a rally for local and statewide candidates in the state of Washington. This is in a presidential contest. I'm sorry if your precious ego is bruised by the relative lack of coverage you got.

(Oh, and your candidate went on to lose badly, Rush.)

By the way, a contemporaneous account of the rally in the Seattle Weekly confirms Rush's crowd estimate -- and adds this rather unnerving detail:

... the audience loved his somewhat diminished ass, shrieking, "We love you, Rush!" like he was Britney Spears spotted at a shopping mall. Menopausal women in polyester pantsuits rushed the stage with pieces of clothing to sign. "You want to be my Tipper?" he asked creepily. "How about a telepathic orgasm?"

Eeeeeuuuw.

*****

Right-wing whiner #2 today is Chris Wallace of Fox News:

Wallace: Dems are 'fools' to boycott Fox

... this election cycle, said Wallace, some Democrats aren't "playing ball" with him -- or with Fox News.

..."I think the Democrats are damn fools [for] not coming on Fox News," Wallace said. "And my guess is that once you get a nominee, they probably will come on, because they know that we get a lot of voters they are going to need if they are going to win the election."

So far, Wallace has interviewed Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; both Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. Edwards have declined.

...Aside from his hourlong Sunday show, the Democratic candidates will not participate in any Fox News-sponsored debates, leaving Wallace to moderate three Republican contests over the course of 2007.

"Just imagine if the Republicans, under pressure from right-to-life groups, refused to appear on CNN or MSNBC," Wallace said.

"I think there would be holy unshirted hell. I think there would be such talk about these people being captives of the extreme right wing and why are they afraid to answer questions. And I think the absence of that is very telling.

"At this point, it has become kind of a loyalty test inside the Democratic Party, ... pandering to the far-left-wing," Wallace added....

Gee, I can't imagine why Democrats won't give you a tumble, when you sweet-talk them like that.

And as for "holy unshirted hell," yes there would be that -- all of it directed at CNN and MSNBC ("Are Republicans' charges of liberal bias justified?").

Ah, but here's Wallace's big selling point:

...November's television ratings prove that ... his show ... [is] on the upswing in Washington.

Yes, but:

...Looking nationwide, however, "Fox News Sunday" remains mired in fourth place, just where it was when Wallace arrived.

For the week ended Dec. 2, "Meet the Press" averaged more than 4 million viewers -- "a 239 percent lead," NBC's press release proclaimed -- over fourth-place "Fox News Sunday," which was just shy of 1.2 million.

"This Week" and "Face the Nation" finished stronger, too, with about 2.9 million and 2.85 million viewers, respectively....

So let me see if I have Wallace's argument straight: Democrats need his show and Fox News to reach voters in the heartland ... even though, in the heartland, people aren't watching.

Yeah, that makes sense. Whine on, Chris.