RUSH-THRU TREATMENT

Inside the Beltway has learned that Rush Limbaugh's painkiller-addiction
"treatment is going extremely well" and "we are confident that, as he
promised, Rush will be back on the air within a few days of completing his
30-day treatment program."

So says Kraig Kitchin, president and chief operating officer of Premiere
Radio Networks, which distributes the widely popular "Rush Limbaugh" radio
show.

"What's more, after meeting with Florida prosecutors, Rush's lawyer, Roy
Black, said flatly on MSNBC last week that he doesn't 'believe that Rush
will ever be arrested or charged with anything,' " Mr. Kitchin was pleased
to inform Premiere senior management in an Oct. 20 memorandum obtained by
this column.

The conservative commentator, who lives in Palm Beach, Fla., acknowledged
on Oct. 10 that he is hooked on painkillers and was immediately checking
into a drug-treatment center. The 52-year-old Mr. Limbaugh also confirmed
he is cooperating with law enforcement authorities in Florida who are
investigating the black-market drug trade.

"I'm also happy to report that there has not been a single defection from
Rush's affiliate roster," Mr. Kitchin writes, not mentioning the fact that
stations like Baltimore's WBAL have chosen to air their own local talent
during Mr. Limbaugh's three-hour time slot rather than Premiere's lineup of
guest hosts, many out-of-market radio commentators affiliated with the network.

"It is also important to know that we have received an overwhelming flood
of e-mails expressing solid support for Rush, his advertisers and his
affiliates," writes Mr. Kitchin, seeking to keep stations, listeners and
advertisers pumped up and on board during Mr. Limbaugh's minimum monthlong
absence.

"Listeners seemed particularly moved by Rush's straightforward acceptance
of responsibility for his problem," he notes, expecting "Rush's admission
will likely help countless others deal with similar problems."