I never listened to Rush that much, mostly because I had a job, and he was on air in the middle of the day.
When I did get a chance to listen, I was always impressed by a few things.
- He was, of course, nothing like the caricature of him you hear from his detractors.
- He almost always had an interesting, insightful take on an issue. Something you didn’t hear from anybody else.
- He was extraordinarily smart, and pulled his insights from a very deep well of knowledge.
- He was simultaneously pompous / arrogant and very humble. It was an odd and likeable quirk.
- He was enormously talented. Not only did he create the talk radio industry single-handedly, he was able to keep a huge audience engaged while he talked for three hours — almost always with no guests. That is simply incredible.
Rush had an enormous impact on conservatism, and on America.
I haven’t listened yet, but I understand Ben Shapiro’s show yesterday was dedicated to all the ghoulish delight from the left over Rush’s parting. (Evil cretins.)
Rest in peace, Rush. It will be a long time before we see your equal.