I have learned much from listening to Rush Limbaugh to the extent that I have been able to catch his great radio show over the years. He is a man of great perception and insight that he communicates in the style of a born teacher. I have loved his show from the first time I caught it during the Clarence Thomas confirmation ordeal in 1991. Today Rush celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his radio show. Congratulations are in order and President Trump called in to extend his. Fortunately, he got through the call screener. I have posted audio of Rush’s segment with the president below.
In a 2011 Commentary essay Bill McClay presented what I call the critique of pure Rush. I think Bill has it right as a general rule: “[Rush] is never quite acknowledged as the formidable figure he clearly is.” This observation nevertheless does not apply to Trump. He put it this way in his call to Rush: “What you do for this country — people have no idea how important your voice is.”
PAUL ADDS: I caught a little bit of Rush’s show while I was driving. He played some clips from his early days as a disc jockey. There were little asides about hippies and women’s liberation. Nothing nasty, just enough to show he was paying attention to the wider world and maybe wasn’t just another guy on the radio.
He also talked about how long it took before he enjoyed any whiff of success. I didn’t realize he was just another guy for so many years.
It’s great that he persevered. The country is better off for it.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.