Hannity, I'm sorry to say, has the shallow TV mentality. Medved is also excellent. Bill Bennet really grabbed me at the beginning, but less so as he learns the business of radio.
Laura Ingraham mixes insight with humor and does a darn good job of it.
Add Mark Davis WBAP 820 Houston to your list.
In the toilet---Schnitt.
I like them all. They all contribute. I enjoy Laura (on my drive to work), Rush (lunchbreak) and can barely hear Savage (weak station) on my ride home, so I usually tune to Hannity.
They fill different needs.
So, instead of being a captain obvious myself, I will merely make the point that Michael Medved is by far & away the BEST I have heard at debating liberals. He doesn't allow them to stray from the point & always ties them up in the knots that they themselves made. Excellent.
Rush is king.
Rush - Pompous blowhard with a God complex. His mother thinks he's funny. Big on law & order except when it comes to buying drugs; eats pills like most people eat M&Ms. Can't seem to stay with one woman. Who'd he play golf with this week?
Boortz - The Hunter S. Thompson of the radio Right. Drank the libertarian Kool-Aid long ago. Speaking style reminescent of a flea-market Jacuzzi salesman.
Hugh Hewitt - Soothing the heart of the confortably numb professional Republican middle with his honeyed tones of reason. If the Chinese were landing tanks on the beach at Del Mar he'd be cautious about condemning it for fear of sounding "fringe". Lileks lifestyle guest spots far more interesting than bulk of show. The John Wesley of conservative talk radio.
Hannity - The hairdo that walks like a man. Sears credit department manager masquerading as a serious political thinker. Less intellligent and less entertaining than hopeless liberal co-host Alan Colmes.
Beck - Entertaining Scandy-Midwesterner whose enigmatic lyrics streched over modern beats by way of Dylan provide interesting entertainment. Oh, wait, you mean Glen Beck, the radio guy. He's inoffensive, I guess.
Savage - Catskills comedy schtick meets West Coast conservative schizophrenia. Manic-depressive episodes provide creative frisson: occasional bulging-eyed rants equal entertaining word-jazz, but frequently unlistenable during down phases. Smart; well-read; might as well be from Jupiter. Does not pander to GOP Uber Alles mentality of talk radio audience, but fails to realize that intellectual approach is utterly lost on most Rush Limbaugh conservatives, who tend to drink Coors Lite and hang drywall for a living. He's right about borders, language, and culture, thus guaranteing he will never have any real influence in US politics -- too inimical to GOP "chamber of commerce" conservatism. If he were a hot chick instead of a grouchy bearded guy he'd be #1 in every market.
Mike Reagan -- Mainstream Republican mouthpiece with a loud voice. Too frequent invocations of Great Communicator only serve to point out his own less-than-great skills in same area. Harmless.
Jerry Doyle -- Angry, appealing ex-sci-fi actor with Something To Prove. Throbbing vein in forehead makes for interesting radio, but too tiring over the long haul. Should probably consider decaf, pot.
Laura Ingraham -- Smart, peppy, humorous pundette with solid Prep background and connections. Fond of name-dropping and sound effects; constant on-mike banter with wacky guy sidekicks sometimes sounds like dormroom bong session sans bong. Occasionally brilliant, usually entertaining, seldom deep, but that's okay.
Tony Snow -- Beltway insider; laid-back Establishment style like Art Buchwald on Haldol. Brown-shoe Republicanism at its sleepy best; should probably consider nationwide Kiwanis Club speaking tour over stressful radio gig.
Mike Medved -- Probably not as smart as he thinks he is, but occasionally correct anyway. Better as a movie guy than a political guy.
Dennis Prager -- Radio's secular rabbi. Annoyingly pedantic style often obscures correct positions on issues. Too "nice" and soft-spoken to have any real impact. One mile wide, one inch deep.
Bill Bennett -- The soporofic sage of the Reagan era mumbles and bumbles his way into whatever the GOP talking points are talking about on any given day. Always sounds as if he's in his robe and slippers. Avoid.
The few left-wingers on talk radio are so uniformly awful that they don't rate discussing.
Talk radio blows.
Where is the vanity tag?
I wish we got Hewitt here in the Northeast NY<NJ market, so I could see what all the shoutin's about, but I've never heard him. Virtually ALL the shows wear on me for their predictability , especially Hannity and now O'Reilly.I've listened to Rush longer than any of them and the phrase "deep but narrow" keeps coming to mind when I listen to him. He simply seems like a rhetorical machine after awhile, and is too much a committed, broken-glass Republican to be inspiring or offer anything startling, or new, or original. But I do still enjoy both Bob Grant, and Michael Savage, who are NEVER predictable, and are ALWAYS independent.
bookmark bump
"To me, those who provide depth and insight include: Rush Limbaugh Dennis Prager Michael Medved Larry Elder"
Ever heard of Bob Grant, WOR Radio?
Is there such a thing as Internet radio anymore?
Looks like the home team's bench is deep and the second and third stringers are ready for the Super Bowl of Issues, to say nothing of the starting line-up. Pity the visitors.
Anyone that's wants real info instead fluff, swill, infotainment, and self promoting blowfishes check out John Stadtmiller on "Nat'l Intel Report" 4-6PM CST / M-F / www.rbnlive.com......check his show out for a week or two and you'll more than a year's worth of listening to some of these others.
Long John Nebel.