Don’t Write Off Rush Limbaugh

By James Rainey and Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times

March 5, 2012, 11:02 p.m.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington— A new week greeted Rush Limbaugh with four more advertiser defections, for a total of 11, along with a sharp rebuke from former Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Peter Gabriel asked that his song "Sledgehammer" no longer be used on Limbaugh's radio program.

Even after Limbaugh issued a rare apology, the furor that had erupted when the conservative radio host called an activist law student a "slut" and a "prostitute" showed no sign of abating Monday.

But a backlash that might be a career-breaker for some commentators seemed unlikely to dent Limbaugh's considerable stature among his 15 million weekly listeners and conservative leaders.

The criticism delivered by most Republican officeholders was muted. One political action committee stepped up to buy even more advertising on his program. All of which suggested that "The Rush Limbaugh Show" might be too big to fail.