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I happen to listen to the radio driving to and from work which takes about an hour. During my final effort of listening to his program, he actually spent a solid 45 minutes goofing around with his program director-- and this was on a fairly good news day!!! This is not that exceptional for him. It used to infuriate me when he spent the first fifteem minutes "warming up" but it became longer and longer amd more and more tedious. This is unfortunate because as I said, I was once a huge fan of his program (telling all my friends to tune-in). But it has seriously gone dowhnill since that first year.

He acts as though he is somehow cute and that his audience relishes his monologues and quips on "Mini-so-cold" ice-fishing, hockey games, marathons (reminding us of his athleticism), jet ski mishaps, etc. He continues treating his audience like fawning adolescents, like groupies, and it is very insulting..

Your other point about the guests he manages to get in between this sophmoric jocularity is well-taken. But he has become a colossal bore who can't help but talk on-and-on about HIMSELF.

This obnoxious "ME-itis", "I'm so special" is less-evident on other programs. Sports-talk is far preferrable.

This is unfortunate because as I said, I was once a huge fan of his program (telling all my friends to tune-in). But it has seriously gone dowhnill since that first year.

I think this is more of an audience perception thing than actual changes in Rush. Occasionally I pull out and listen to one of the tapes I made of his program in the '91 to '92 time frame - and Rush is still Rush.

Audience jading, maturing , and exposure to FR et al, however, cannot be overlooked as factor in one losing a bit of his 'taste' or appreciation for Rush's on-air style, content and his delivery. As the audience matures, develops tastes of their own, comes to well-based, well-developed differences in philosopies of their own - these contrasts will appear and as time goes on, become more pronounced ...