MARK: As you well know, Rush always said, “You know, folks, this isn’t about me,” and by now he’s probably up there yelling, “Hey, guys, enough about me. The Stick-to-the-Issues Crowd is going nuts out there.” Well, we will get back to the issues soon enough because of the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies — where I have been a somewhat unimpressive foreign-exchange student for many, many years now.
I should have completed this degree something like 12 years ago. The Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies is not like your local grade school. We never close, and we are never shut down — not by the ChiCom-19 or by anything else. The Rush Limbaugh Show isn’t going anywhere, and Rush’s irreplaceable voice will continue to dominate the airwaves.
But we have been privileged to share some time with Kathryn for these last two hours and learn a little about Rush off the air when he was away from the Golden EIB Microphone. And, you know, Kathryn was telling us that when Elton John sang at their wedding that both of them had a favorite song by Elton.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re the most famous guy in America as Rush was. When you’re in love, you’re just a courting couple like any other courting couple and you have your favorite song, whether it’s The Way You Look Tonight or It Had To Be You or whatever it is, and for Rush and Kathryn there was a particular song by Elton that they loved. To introduce it, here is Rush talking about…
BEGIN ARCHIVE CLIP
RUSH MONTAGE: (February 3, 2012) The lovely Kathryn — the greatest, best wife ever. (January 29, 2021) My lovely wife, Kathryn. (September 22, 2011) My lovely beautiful wife, Kathryn. (June 15, 2010) Kathryn looked radiant, just beautiful. (May 5, 2015) I just got another message from Kathryn which says, “Hi, babe!” Because she heard me talking about the note from the… So now I’m gonna reply to it.
“Very cool, isn’t it, sweetie?” (June 7, 2013) She has led a fascinating life. She’s grown up all over the world. Her parents, her mother was a State Department diplomat, and her father was a Naval Academy grad. She speaks a number of languages, has been a number of places, and is a fascinating person. (March 11, 2014) Kathryn said, “Why don’t you do a book for kids, telling the truth about American history?” (March 27, 2020) The only place I really want to be during all of this — aside from at the side of my lovely wife Kathryn — is in the radio studio.
(July 20, 2009) The beautiful and gorgeous and just wonderful Kathryn. (January 19, 2009) Kathryn, the beautiful, incomparable Kathryn. (December 17, 2008) Kathryn, the lovely and gracious, the most beautiful. (June 5, 2020) She’s just been a gigantic pillar of strength. (May 26, 2020) By virtue of her countenance and her being — optimistic, happy, bouncy.
(December 23, 2020) I’ve been defended. I’ve been made to look better than I am. My lovely wife, Kathryn, has done so much in that regard. (May 26, 2020) I could not be doing this without Kathryn. I have never experienced anybody so selfless. I marvel at her selflessness. I don’t know how she does it. (June 15, 2010) Kathryn and I… Well, I know it’s true for her, too. I’ve never been happier.
END ARCHIVE CLIP
(playing Your Song)
MARK: Ah, me. That is for Kathryn and Rush with all our love. Their favorite Elton John song. “I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you’re in the world,” and beyond the world and for all eternity too. I don’t know Bernie Taupin, who wrote that song with Elton, too well.
But I know Tim Rice, who’s been a dear friend of mine for years and wrote the lyrics with Elton to the songs for the Lion King, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” and “Hakuna Matata” and all those. And Elton always wants the lyric first. He always wants the words first, which lyricists hate to do because it can all come out tumpty tumpty tumpty tumpty.
And we played it again there, not just for Kathryn because she was talking about it earlier, but also for Rush, because the disc jockey in him survived as we heard on Friday’s show. The disc jockey in him and the disc jockey’s approach to doing radio survived in him all through the years, and that’s one reason why he was a better talk guy than anything else, apart from that.
As I said, the Rush Limbaugh Show isn’t going anywhere. The Excellence in Broadcasting Network isn’t going anywhere. And Rush’s voice isn’t going anywhere so you need not have any fear of that. This is Mark Steyn in for Rush. That’s all it’s ever been: Mark Steyn in for Rush through all these years.
It’s been the greatest privilege of my life in these United States to guest host for Rush because this is surely one of the jobs that Americans will do. Rush has been very indulgent (chuckles) of an effete foreigner in letting him anchor this show.
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