Too subtle?
Rush wasn’t at all subtle about backing Cruz. So why be ‘subtle’ about the actual nominee? I think he’s pouting - he needs to read Mr. Robinson’s message ;)
I would say that one Limbaugh, David, was not subtle about backing Cruz; but I would maintain that Rush has not been backing Cruz as much as he has been backing, or currying, Cruz VOTERS. And, given his place in the conservative zeitgeist, I think that it is important that he do so.
Rush has known all along, just like I have known, that Cruz is unelectable in the America of 2016 — that his thrust and his following are just too narrow; he also knows that Trump will be the winner with all the steam he has generated. But Rush views his job in this regard as being one who can, and will, cultivate enough unity among our disparate elements of conservatism to defeat liberalism, especially in this presidential cycle. He cannot do that by playing one over against the other.
No, he is coaching Trump to be a bit more classically conservative, while knowing that Trump will win. Rush is personally close to Trump, as most people are aware. At the same time, he is giving props to Cruz and, especially, Cruz’s followers.
In the end, Rush has and will play a major role in the process, unlike the shills: Levin and Beck and Hewitt, to name just a few. Which is why Rush has to be subtle about it, even coy.