I first started listening to Rush in March of 89, when he still had a pretty sharp edge. As the audience, and contracts, got bigger, he became much more circumspect as to who, what and how he would employ his wit & sarcasm. He traveled to israel at least once, probably multiple times, and consistently sided with them on every Middle East-related issue. To me, Limbaugh was the Oprah of the right, shepherding the Dittoheads so they didn't stray outside the "acceptable realm of conservative groupthink".