I think a better case could be made for Ronald Reagan. Not because he died, but it is his conservative legacy that has taken over the country. Rush contributed a bunch, but Reagan was the man who really made it happen. GW politics were heavily inflenced by Reagan.
Bump to that.
It was the new media aspect of 2004 that caused me to advance Rush as the Man of the Year. He was not only a pioneer, but a huge influence every year since he went on the air in Sacremento. Now's the time.
In fact in a very real sense Reagan made the EIB happen; before Reagan the FCC had the pernicious "Fairness Doctrine," putatively to keep broadcasting "fair and balanced."It took courage to recognize and act on the fact that the "Fairness Doctrine" rigorously enforced Political Correctness in broadcasting. Polical Correctness is simply the perspective of journalism - the perspective of superficial second-guessing criticism of the productive.