RUSH'S DENIALS ARE SOUNDING FAMILIAR

Conservative Celebrity's Persecution Claim Doesn't Wash.

Rush Limbaugh can bluster all he wants about how he's being singled out for
prosecution because he's a conservative celebrity. It won't wash.

The millionaire radio talk show host's denials and hair-splittings are
starting to sound an awful lot like those of his arch-enemy, Bill Clinton.

The fact is, by Limbaugh's own admission, he was addicted to prescription
painkillers. He apparently spent a lot of money buying the medicine in
secret. Since drug abuse of any kind is a scourge on society, law
enforcement has a legitimate interest in finding out whether these
purchases were legal, and particularly who was doing the selling.

There is very little, if any, difference between a person who abuses
illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine and one who abuses prescription
drugs. The most glaring difference is that one group can afford the habit,
while many in the other must commit crimes to pay for drugs. For Limbaugh
and his attorney to allege that this is a politically motivated
investigation undercuts Limbaugh's own history of criticizing illicit drug
dealers and drug users.

Limbaugh makes it sound like the police set him up. His troubles, however,
only came to light when a former maid, who allegedly supplied the
medication, went to the police. Only after he got outed did Limbaugh seek
help. Nobody was sniffing into his life one bit until there was evidence
that he paid a lot of money for drugs.

A person who craves something the way a drug addict does will do almost
anything, including bending or breaking the law, to get it. All of us know
this to be true. So it is not unthinkable for prosecutors to wonder if
Limbaugh, too, did it.

Limbaugh claims to be pro-law enforcement, anti-drug and anti-crime. Yet he
got all that medication somewhere. Why is he accusing law enforcement of
invading his privacy? He is the same guy who has criticized others for
being soft on crime and said that drug users - not just the suppliers -
ought to be put in jail. Yet when the spotlight shines in his direction, he
runs for cover, just like all the people he's knocked over the years.

Search warrants obtained in the investigation are not pretty. Investigators
allege that Limbaugh went to at least two different medical facilities in
Palm Beach, Fla., to get treated for pain, but did not tell either place
that he was getting help elsewhere for the same problem. It's called doctor
shopping, and prescription drug addicts frequently do it in an attempt to
feed their habit.

Many of Limbaugh's listeners will no doubt forgive his weaknesses and
transgressions - the same way President Clinton's defenders said it was no
big deal that he was cavorting with a girl half his age in the White House.
It's got to be comforting that Limbaugh's so-called "Dittoheads" are
standing by him. Such loyalty is difficult to earn.

He can also help his skeptics. He should stop whining about being singled
out by the law because he's famous. He was big enough to admit his problem.
He now should accept the legal system's medicine.