Rush Limbaugh. What a Guy.

Conservative talk radio king and overrated windbag Rush Limbaugh, looking more bloated than ever (if that is at all possible), delivered the nationally televised keynote speech to close out the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Saturday. It was an interesting move for the conference, but not a senseless one. Limbaugh has recently been touted by some since the election as the face of the conservative right despite his undeniably polarizing persona. The speech was proudly proclaimed by the unctuously giddy Limbaugh as his “first national address” as it was broadcast nationwide on Fox News. Rush ran more than an hour over his allotted time of twenty minutes (which would seem to contradict Limbaugh’s insistence that contrary to popular belief he is neither pompous nor arrogant) and was seemingly well received.
In an unusual move for the generally partisan pundit, Limbaugh gave President Obama his due credit as a gifted politician while at the same time lamenting the way in which Obama is using his political and oratorical talents and new influence as President. However, one would never know that Limbaugh admired the President as a politician or in any other capacity for that matter by looking at Rush’s website. Headlines run the gamut from labeling Obama as a socialist to outright exclaiming the talk show host’s hope that the president will fail, all bordered by advertisements for Rush’s oh so clever “Club Gitmo” souvenir line.
Along with his usual venomous anti-liberal barbs, Limbaugh tried to inject some excitement and hope into the wounded conservative crowd as he looked four years into the future and commented on the need for conservatives to pick the right candidate to represent their true ideals in the 2012 election and re-claim the white house. Though he named no suitable candidate, he has recently made a point on his radio program of defending Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal from liberal and especially conservative criticism in the wake of his response to President Obama’s speech to congress. Limbaugh cautioned conservatives away from criticisms of Jindal whom he claimed truly speaks for conservative beliefs, regardless of whether conservatives approve of the manner in which he does so.
Rush is not subtle regarding his admiration for the young governor who has become a rising star within the Republican ranks and drawn comparisons as a conservative answer to the President. The transcript for the radio segment which aired last week during which he defended him while also shouting his praises is labeled on his website under the title "Why We Love Bobby Jindal". While dismissing President Obama’s speech as “meaningless” and filled with “all kinds of lies” “El Rushbo” as he likes to refer to himself, made excuses for any faults in Jindal’s speech and gushed about the promise the young politician has shown both in his speech and his political actions.
Whether or not Rush has become the face of the conservative right by default, there is nothing new about him. Rush’s act has been pretty much the same for two decades now. He has been one of the top rated talk radio hosts, conservative or otherwise for years but conservative politicians tend to keep him at arms length due to his loose cannon image and reputation for off color remarks. His first “national address” may simply signal the feeling of desperation that has taken hold of the right since Obama’s election. It also seems like no coincidence that left wing media members are the first to proclaim the controversial Limbaugh as the new leader of the Republican party. I'm sure liberals are more than happy to have someone as potentially cancerous as Limbaugh representthe opposition. As for rush, he seems to be relishing the new post assigned to him whomever it is coming from. He certainly seems to have thrown his influence behind Bobby Jindal, but only time will tell whether that will ultimately help or harm any aspirations the Louisiana Governor may have in regards to the presidency.