It’s because this race is a referendum on town halls, on tea partying, on the 9/12 Project.

Last night Hannity had on Hoffman to attempt to seal the victory, with a lengthy interview at the top of his show. But it wasn’t just Hoffman – the candidate (who has never run for political office and has said he never planned to) sat quietly while he was flanked by Fred Thompson and Jeri Thompson, who sounded quite politically polished herself. In fact, for the majority of the interview, Hoffman sat quietly, hands folded in his lap, periodically saying things like, “We’ve got to fight!” while Hannity and the Thompson’s took the lead.

“I wasn’t paying attention to it as closely as you were,” said Hannity to Jeri. “Then I started reading your emails and I started wrapping my arms around it, and it wasn’t just me by the way there were other conservatives Mark Levin is another one, and we spoke at length about it.”

Earlier in the evening, Hannity’s lead partner in the election of Hoffman, Glenn Beck, spent nearly 10 minutes hammering home just how very important this run-off race was. “I really don’t care about local politics all that much,” he said, which is pretty much what the Watertown Daily Times found out about Hoffman himself, who doesn’t even live in the district. “I really don’t follow this, I mean I do a national show, but I am watching this one, but not because Doug Hoffman is all that electric…” (and Glenn Beck knows electric) “…I don’t know much about him but from what I do know I seem to like, but who knows.”

Then he played a clip of his interview with Hoffman on his radio show earlier that day. But he didn’t play the part that’s getting all that attention.

>>> NEXT PAGE: Take a guess who Hoffman calls a “mentor”…and why it’s not just Beck/Hannity (and video/audio)