That's it, exactly. He doesn't have a "dog in the fight", so he can afford to be completely honest.
He also managed to somehow avoid the personality cults that Levin and Hannity developed. I sort of put Rush in his own world. He openly admits he’s an entertainer so I take his stuff in that light whether I agree with him or not. The others blow in the $$$ and political winds as their careers depend on GOP guests and book sales/ad dollars.
Steyn sells books but does not play word games in his columns to keep the cash flowing.