The Real Rush Limbaugh

Zev Chafets has seen more of Rush Limbaugh's personal world than any other journalist, and in his new biography of the pundit he reveals some distinctly grandiose tastes in this self-imagined tribune of Middle America.

I reviewed Zev Chafets’ new biography of Rush Limbaugh for the Washington Post.

"Every great man has his disciples," quipped Oscar Wilde. "And it is always Judas who writes the biography."

Not so for Rush Limbaugh. Biographer Zev Chafets received unprecedented access to the broadcaster, and he has more than kept faith with his subject: "I relished his bravado, laughed at his outrageous satire, and admired his willingness to go against the intellectual grain."

There are no scandalous disclosures here, no unearthing of long-concealed secrets. The book originated as a New York Times Magazine profile, and even plussed-up to more than 200 pages, a profile it remains. It was embargoed to protect one mild-to-medium anecdote: When invited to play golf with Limbaugh, President Obama supposedly answered, "Limbaugh can play with himself."

Otherwise, the story is the familiar one: origins in the gentry of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; the early struggles for radio success; the switch to political monologue in Sacramento in the 1980s; the move to New York City in 1988; the explosive success of the now-national program; three marriages with a fourth on the way; the struggle with drug addiction and subsequent hearing loss; the amazing recovery and his starring role in the opposition to Obama.

So what, if anything, is new and interesting in Chafets's long-form treatment?

For one, Chafets exposes some disconnects between Limbaugh's private life and public presence. Chafets has seen more of the pundit's personal world than any other journalist, and reveals some distinctly grandiose tastes in this self-imagined tribune of Middle America.

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