The Potpourri That Is Rush

We would never suggest that a man wanting to get in touch with his feminine side was anything but good.

But what, we wonder, were the legions of Rush Limbaugh's (carried locally on WXIT 1200 AM and WHKY 1290 AM) fans to think after the allegedly "liberal" New York Times ran a major puffpiece on the guy, disclosing all sorts of interesting details about Rush's lifestyle?

At the very least, Rush's carefully crafted image as a "REGULAR! GUY!, JUST LIKE YOU AND ME!!" can no longer be justified by anyone. From the New York Times:

“ANTICIPATING A QUESTION,” Limbaugh said when we pulled into the garage of his secluded beachfront mansion in Palm Beach, “why do I have so many cars?”

I hadn’t actually been wondering that. Very rich people tend not to stint on transportation. For example, we drove to the house from the studio, Limbaugh at the wheel, in a black Maybach 57S, which runs around $450,000 fully loaded. He had half a dozen similar rides on his estate.

“I have these cars for two reasons,” Limbaugh said. “First, they are for the use of my guests. And two, I happen to love fine automobiles.”

He also loves space. There are five homes — all of them his — on the property. The big house is 24,000 square feet. Limbaugh lives there with a cat. He’s been married three times but has no children.

...

The place, largely designed by Limbaugh himself, reflects the things and places he has seen and admired. The massive chandelier in the dining room, for example, is a replica of the one that hung in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel in New York. The gleaming cherry-wood floors are dotted with hand-woven oriental carpets. A life-size oil portrait of El Rushbo, as he often calls himself on the air, hangs on the wall of the main staircase. Unlike many right-wing talk-show hosts, Limbaugh does not view France with hostility. On the contrary, he is a Francophile. His salon, he told me, is meant to suggest Versailles.

...

Limbaugh is especially proud of his two-story library, which is a scaled-down version of the library at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Cherubs dance on the ceiling, leatherbound collections line the bookshelves and the wood-paneled walls were once “an acre of mahogany.”

...

His staff lights fragrant candles throughout the house to greet his arrival from work each day.

You can check out the full NYT article (registration required) to find out more about the softer side of Rush.

But also be sure to check out the interview with the author of the article itself--an article widely panned for being pretty soft all by its little own oneself:

In a July 4 interview preceding the publication of his profile of radio host Rush Limbaugh, New York Times Magazine contributor Zev Chafets asserted on WNYC's On the Media: "I'm not an apologist for Rush Limbaugh, but I'm a little bit defensive because I think that the liberal media takes such an unfair view of him." During the interview, however, Chafets offered no support for his assertion that "the liberal media takes such an unfair view of him."

Listen to the interview on WNYC here. Transcript here.

Rush, keep having your staff light those scented candles for you. We'll support you in your efforts to get in touch with your feminine side. Maybe it will help you find out where all that anger is coming from. That can only be a good thing. We'll bring you a wine cooler (certainly NOT a beer).

Finally, for Rush fans: Do you now understand why your Dear Leader wants to make the Bush tax cuts for the super-rich permanent? Certainly not for your benefit.