One Month Later, Rush Limbaugh Sitting Pretty

Remember all the outrage, the advertiser exodus, the calls for Rush Limbaugh to be permanently taken off the air after he called birth control advocate Sandra Fluke a slut? Well, one month on, all that appears to be in the past. In the past two weeks, just one additional sponsor (Kohler) has ditched Limbaugh, and it turns out many of the more than 100 advertisers who left earlier in the controversy were either not regular sponsors or only aired ads in regional or local markets. Others are trickling back, the Washington Post notes.

"Contrary to the wishful thinking of the professional special interest groups, reports of sponsors fleeing the Rush Limbaugh Show are grossly exaggerated. In fact, the program retains virtually all its long-term sponsors," says a spokesperson for Limbaugh's syndicator. In addition, though two small stations dropped Limbaugh early on, no others have made the same move; nor has Limbaugh been booted from his time slot in favor of Mike Huckabee's new program. And of course, Clear Channel's CEO recently hailed Limbaugh as the "king of radio." Even so, liberal groups aren't giving up, and say they intend to keep pressure on Limbaugh. (More Rush Limbaugh stories.)