Understanding Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh's pronouncement that he hopes Obama fails has been derided by the left and (to a lesser extent) the right. Heck, even Pat Robertson denounced Rush's comments, and Robertson is a crazy wing-nut of the highest order. But I think I can shed some light on why Rush is like he is.

Rush, above all else, is an entertainer. His job is not to be reasonable, or even correct. His job is to get people to listen to his show. Period. He will be more successful if his audience knows what to expect. His show is not about presenting new ideas. It's about presenting a comfortable sameness on which his listeners can rely.

Years ago, in another lifetime, I was a professional stand-up comedian. One thing I prided myself on was being an expert on the mechanics of comedy. If you look at successful comedians, you will often find that they are one-dimensional characters. Richard Lewis is the "Neurotic Jew". Larry the Cable Guy is the "Redneck Philosopher". Louis Black is the "Angry Guy". The more they stay in character, the more the audience knows what to expect from them, the bigger the laughs. Break character and you lose them. If Larry the Cable Guy tried to do the kind of intellectual humor that, say, Eddie Izzard uses, it would fly in the face of audience expectation and the disconnect would cause the joke to fall flat. The more they stay in character, the less the audience has to think and the more they can just roll with it.

In many ways, Rush is similar to the "Morning Madness Crew" in radio stations all over the country (Bob & Tom, JohnBoy & Billy, or Drew & Bean are the most widely syndicated examples). Their shows are long and they burn up a lot of material. But they can't let up or they lose listeners. Those listeners tune in because they know what to expect. The DJs will be outlandish, mocking and politically incorrect. They can't break off from that format to, say, have a serious discussion about the banking crisis. They would turn off their audience who would turn THEM off. They have to have a consistent character and remain true to it. So it is with Rush.

Rush also bears a striking resemblance to another entertainer of the airwaves...the televangelist. Watch any televangelist show and you will soon hear about some crisis that needs to be addressed - gay marriage, prayer in schools, abortion. There is always a crisis that needs immediate attention. So it is with Rush. In both cases, then try to incense the audience and then engage the audience to act. In the case of the televangelist, the required action is to send money. In the case of Rush Limbaugh, the action is to send letters to Congress. But in both cases the goal is the same - more power for the broadcaster.

Rush Limbaugh has actually become a major force withing the Republican party. This would not have happened if he had thoughtfully weighed the pros and cons of every issue. He got that way be being a dependably shrill, partisan neocon. Saying that he hoped Obama fails gained Rush more listeners, more money, more power (not to mention tons of free PR).

As near as I can tell, Rush is a smart guy. In my heart of hearts, I don't think he believes everything he says. But he has to keep one-upping himself so he can continue to enrage his listeners. I feel the same way about all the pundits on the airwaves. No matter what they are like in private, they have to be one-dimensional caricatures in order to succeed. Don't expect reasonable discourse from talk shows. That would be out of character.

So I understand why Rush is Rush. I still think he is a douchbag of epic proportions. But I understand.