The most powerful man in the Republican Party
by digby
Former President George W. Bush has appeared six times on the program. The first time was during the 2000 presidential campaign. Then, in 2004, he “called in” to a live broadcast during the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention to give a preview of his nomination acceptance speech. He called in again in 2006. The fourth time was April 18, 2008, when Limbaugh asked the White House to speak with Bush to thank him for the ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI, which awed Limbaugh. The fifth call was during the show’s 20th anniversary celebration, in which then-President Bush (and George H. W. Bush and Jeb Bush) congratulated Limbaugh. He appeared a sixth time for an interview regarding his autobiography, Decision Points on November 9, 2010.
Vice President Dick Cheney has made multiple appearances.
In 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called in to a live broadcast of the show a day after having called Limbaugh “irrelevant;” adding, “I’m not his servant. I’m the people’s servant of California,” on an appearance on NBC’s Today show.[6]
Other notable guests who have called into Limbaugh’s show include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, economist Thomas Sowell, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and television writer Joel Surnow, who took calls about events in his show, 24. In December 2006, Sylvester Stallone made an appearance on the show to discuss his upcoming movie Rocky Balboa. On February 27, 2004, actor Jim Caviezel called into the program to discuss The Passion of the Christ film, in which Caviezel played the role of Jesus Christ. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) also called into a show before a rally in October 2008 to discuss the election and the economic distortion and impact of Senator Obama’s tax policy; Palin returned to the show in November 2009 to discuss her book Going Rogue. Phil Gingrey, a congressman who compared shows such as Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to “throwing bricks” in January 2009, gave an interview on Limbaugh’s show the next day.
Limbaugh has also had author and Washington Times columnist Bill Gertz on his show to discuss Gertz’s books as well as national security issues. In 2007, Limbaugh (among numerous other hosts) interviewed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and was the first to interview Tony Snow after his departure from his post as White House press secretary. He also interviewed NBC News host Tim Russert in 2004.[7] In May 2010, country musician John Rich reported for Limbaugh on the May 2010 Tennessee floods.
Here’s their good pal earlier today:
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