(5 of 5)
The cross and joy of Rush Limbaugh are that everything he says could be filed under Political-Science Fiction. That's because he wants it both ways. * He wants to be taken seriously as a pundit by those he convinces and indulged as a comedian by those he might outrage. He considers himself, with typical bluster, "the epitome of morality and virtue" and "the most dangerous man in America." Are most of his facts factual? Yes. Does he overuse the debater's tactic of tarring whole movements with extreme examples? Yes. Does the distinction between fairness and exaggeration matter? Yes -- every bit as much as it does in any other arena of politics or show biz. Says Buckley, first in the modern line of conservatives who mixed sharp opinions with cutting wit: "Anybody who engages in polemics is, to an extent, engaging in hyperbole. But that's as American as a tall tale of Mark Twain."
Limbaugh is talking to a lot of people, politically stranded by the media, who believe that only he is talking to them. But no one has proposed him for President or Messiah; and he declares he would not apply for either job. Other listeners abhor the political product but enjoy the spiel. You can find diversion in any aspect of the Limbaugh carnival: the tight-wire walker or the Tilt-a-Whirl, the sideshow barker or the geek. You might even find it salutary to have your own exalted prejudices shaken by him. Last time we looked, Rush was still popular, and the Republic was still standing.