And other Rush (actually, this Rush) related news.

One speech later and Rush Limbaugh is (again) the talk of the political nation.  Give John Derbyshire credit – his column questioning the influence of Limbaugh in the Age of Obama proved to be about one news cycle ahead of the curve as nearly every media outlet in the country is now debating conservatism’s leading “infotainer.” 

Add Politico to the mix today with an arena debate on whether Minority Whip Eric Cantor or Limbaugh speaks better for the GOP.  A small sampling of comments include:

I think Republicans are making a serious mistake if they choose to be led by talk radio. The callers to these programs are not representative of the universe of their listeners or even the conservative base. So it is a grave error to treat them as if they are representative of the American people as a whole, which many Republicans implicitly do.  —Bruce Bartlett, Historian & Reagan Policy Adviser

As much as the Democrats want to believe that Rush is the “leader” of Republicans and Conservatives, it is simply not true. Through his humor and outrageousness, Rush does speak the truth from time to time. He is right to point out that, Republicans need to stay true to their principles and not cave just because they are in the minority.  —Bradley Blakeman, Republican Strategist

Republicans need to offer better policy alternatives. Right now, their mantra is tax cuts and small government. They do not seem to understand that the world has changed with the financial meltdown…The louder Limbaugh talks, the better off Obama is. Political leaders always get defined by their opponents and right now, Democrats have opponents who don’t understand how the political environment has shifted.  —Darrell West, VP Brookings Institute

Limbaugh may or may not be the intellectual heir to Bill Buckley, but did Buckley ever quite generate this kind of political debate?

ADDENDUM:  Well, I don’t recall Bill Buckley ever being attacked by the Chair of the RNC.  Fresh off of his “hip-hop GOP” comments, Michael Steele continues to show a remarkable display of intraparty ignorance by blasting Limbaugh on the very same day Rush closed CPAC with a thunderclap.  Calling Limbaugh’s show “incendiary” and ”ugly”, Steele not only showed a complete lack of understanding about the feelings of the party’s grassroots but a equal lack of political acumen. 

In trying to tear down the Obama Administration’s strawman that propels Limbaugh into qusi-elective office, Steele only strengthens the tactic by blasting the radio talk show host.  How hard is it to throw a mild complement Limbaugh’s way, lightly dismiss his relevance to the GOP’s deliberations and then change the subject?  Instead, Steele’s defensive reaction to Limbaugh’s stature makes it look like a man with three hours of broadcast time, five days a week, dictates more of the Republican Party’s workings than the head of the RNC.  A very poor decision by Steele.