Talk host 'reborn' after drug rehab

Rush Limbaugh told listeners yesterday he feels "reborn" at age 52 as a result of his five weeks of treatment for addiction to prescription painkillers.

"I'm nervous. I have butterflies in my stomach. I've been anticipating this moment since last Wednesday afternoon, after being discharged from the treatment center," the nation's most popular talk-radio host said when he returned to the airwaves after spending 33 days in an Arizona rehabilitation center.

Some of the observations I had from the show today was that Rush's previous attempts at detox must have been done on his own (I don't know if he sought any guidence but he said that he had tried twice in the past to kick it).

I didn't get to catch all of today's program (although I did catch much much more than I expected since I couldn't go outside because of the floods in Houston); also there were some interruptions of his broadcast today because of weather bulletins. I didn't hear Rush make any comparisons between this addiction and his use of tobacco. He talked in the past how he was able to kick cigarettes with simple willpower (although he still gets nicotine from cigars; I don't know on what basis).

I'm not piling on Rush, I'm just making some observations on the show. I was surprised to hear Rush's addiction goes back to the mid-1990s. He's had critics that he show wasn't what it used to be but it would appear that his broadcasts didn't suffer from his personal issues. It also predates his dramatic weight loss (some on the left have claimed that he really lost weight because of drugs). I won't use his comeback broadcast to answer his detractors; they won't read this and their assertions have no weight at this point.

There were a couple of statements that Rush made that I thought were wreckless. I am having difficulty recalling just what they were... I don't think that he ever tied his addiction to health problems/pain (although as I admit, I was in earshot of the show but didn't hear all of it). He admits that it felt good (true, addictions feed a need even when they don't contribute to our well being or even pose direct opposition to what's good for us).

I don't feel that Rush said anything today that makes me as a listener (since 1991) feel "betrayed" but I was puzzled by a little of what I heard. I don't feel that Rush "owes" me an answer but if wants to explain and move on, fine. I listen to the show for his commentary on current events. No one does it like he does. He doesn't share all of his homelife with listeners (I think that he has a teenaged stepdaughter; I don't know what her politics are or how she feels about Rush as her father figure). His privacy is his business and I for one don't want to see his program become the "Rush Limbaugh" Show instead of "The Rush Limbaugh Show".

Rush has said that the job of his callers is to make the host look good (not through compliments but by furthering discussion on the show and even giving him a window of opportunity to discuss some things).

Welcome back, Rush.

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