When Rush goes off the air we lose: the creator of modern talk radio. That's who he was.
He was so many things to so many people. For the average listener he made the complex simple. For the advanced listener who already knew much of what he was covering Rush always came up with an edge we had not thought of. It's just who he was and how he covered issues. He even did a childrens series of books that will be remembered by all those kids who read them and the few that chatted with him on the air. It was a brilliant move by the Doctor of Democracy who realized that our kids are being brainwashed in school and someone has to say "enough" and at least make an attempt to reverse the move to change all our ways of life starting with our kids.
For some of us also in talk radio he was a mentor, teacher and an example of how to do it right.
His key duty was to bring everyone on board. If he had an issue that was so complex he could not bring all on board many times he would work around it or leave it for later. He knew and knows that effective communication means that everyone understands what is coming out across the air waves. When people don't understand they leave and go somewhere else.
That didn't happen often with Rush. His numbers were always through the stratosphere in the millions. Today maybe 20-30 million. We will never know since people now listen on their phones, computers,cars,and almost anywhere,some methods are measured some are not. Either way to say he will be missed is a vast understatement. In a way it's the end of an era. One that may never be duplicated. 