Holding Fire! Limbaugh Softens on McCain Attacks

Rush Limbaugh, in an interview with Jay Carney at Time, practically sounds like a mild-mannered, senior-citizen impartial observer when talking about his role in the far-right's McCain conservative constroversy:

Jay Carney:

Is there anything John McCain can do to persuade you he's acceptable?

Rush Limbaugh:

I don't think he should even try. He's got to be who he is. I don't think he needs to reach out. His job is not to be acceptable to a single person. I'm not sitting here demanding that. I don't have that kind of sense of power or existence. That's one of the things that sort of amuse me about all this. You know, he had Bob Dole send that letter. And Phil Gramm has called. Phil Gramm was in Davos. But Phil just [said], "Let me tell you why I'm for McCain." Pure and simple. He didn't persuade or arm twist. I don't think Senator McCain ought to do anything but be who he is and let the chips fall. Because that's his strength. And if he starts doing anything that appears to be pandering to people, then he's going to lose, I think some — I don't know, respect — but some people are going to question it. Because he's never pandered. At least his image is that he's never pandered. He's a maverick. He's out there on his own and he's going to ride the trail wherever it takes him, in the direction he wants to go. I wouldn't expect it.

You know, when it comes down to a general election — looks like it's going to be Obama versus McCain — any number of ways of playing this, and one of them, I don't necessarily have to tout McCain, but I certainly will be critical of Obama. Once we get down to the general, you start examining what this guy's policies are. Right now [Obama is] saying nothing better than anybody has ever said it. At least in my lifetime. It's going have to get specific at some point.

I said this on the radio yesterday. I really do take all this seriously in terms of the future of the country and where we're headed. And liberalism to me, based on its history, portends disastrous things for the future of the country. I think liberals in a political sense need to be defeated, not accommodated, not reached across the aisle and hugged, not walked across the aisle and accommodate them and bring them in. And I certainly don't want the Republican Party to be redefined by becoming victorious on the basis of a bunch of liberal Democrats being attracted to the party as liberal Democrats. I'd love to have them if they are converted to our side. But we're missing genuine conservative leadership, so that's not going to happen.

I'll have plenty to talk about. When Bush 41 was elected in '88, people said, 'Well, that's it for Limbaugh; he's going to have nothing to say.' Well, Wrong! The liberals were out there starting with global warming. The spotted owl was going nuts back then. There are always going to be liberals to rail against no matter who's in the White House.

"I don't necessarily have to tout McCain..."

Well, that sounds firm and decivise... Go Rush!! You're really firing up the base!!

In any case, read the whole thing.

Rush's got his finger on the pulse of the far-right talk radio bureaucracy, and it's barely beating. My guess is he's paving the way for an inevitable reconciliation with the maverick "RINO" from Arizona.

See also my previous entry, "Talk Radio's Limited Impact"