"Dear Ms. Tucker,
I am sure you have heard from many folks on your 10/20 column on Rush Limbaugh's auction. Just a couple of quick points.
Your column stated that Mr. Limbaugh "had recently criticized U.S. troops who were against the war in Iraq", which is not true. Listening to the transcript of his show clearly shows that he was addressing people who falsify their service records and/or make false claims about their service in order to smear the current effort in Iraq (e.g. Jesse Macbeth, Scott Beauchamp) - these are the "phony soldiers" referenced.
Second, you wrongly assert that Rush "decided" he had been smeared; actually, a close reading of both the transcript and the Reid letter indicates that he _was_ smeared.
Third, Senator Reid had absolutely zero to do with raising money for charity, which was Rush's idea. Senator Reid's abuse of power, as well as the lockstep marching of the other 40 followers, including 3 presidential aspirants, is what created the value on which Rush capitalized.
Fourth, at the start of the auction, Rush announced that he would match the winning bid and challenged Senator Reid and his co-signers to do so as well. Their response and the response of the media?
* crickets chirping *
Rush raised $4.2M to help the children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement oficers get an education; the Democrats raised nothing but a stink. There's your story..."
Well stated...