I suppose the radical Rush-haters might speculate that in allowing an African American to host his show, Limbaugh is merely creating a public cover for his racism. But I think the truth is that Rush is color-blind and instead is serving his huge audience by letting them listen to and learn from one of America’s most popular conservatives, one with a gift for explaining economics to the public.

The last time I heard Williams guest-host for Rush — a few weeks ago — he was interviewing Thomas Sowell, the brilliant conservative writer and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Sowell (left) who also happens to be black. I have been a conservative for 25 years and I have never heard a fellow (white) conservative say anything demeaning or racially tinged about either Williams or Sowell, or Alan Keyes or Michael Steele, etc.  True conservatives value ideas — and when brilliant men and women put forth good ideas, they could care less about the skin color of the person offering them.

So as far as the current Rush controversy goes, all I can say is: if Limbaugh is a “racist,” he sure is an incompetent one. — Peter LaBarbera, www.americansfortruth.org

P.S. Since we’re on the subject of Rush, one day on these pages we’ll have to tell the full story of how “El Rushbo” got “zapped” by ACT UP, a homosexual group know for its “direct action” tactics — when he was substituting for the old CBS Pat Sajak Show. That intolerant act of “gay” thuggery — which is mentioned in this Wikipedia entry on Rush (footnote #49) — certainly contributed to Rush downplaying the homosexual issue in the years that followed.