Stance on Fox likely OK with Limbaugh fans

"Michael J. Fox has stepped into a new political world when he starts appearing in ads that make very personal charges that Republicans oppose life-saving cures and thus favor people dying of debilitating diseases," Graham said. "To make a charge that personal and then not expect a backlash is either incredibly naive or remarkably cynical. He is now both a very sympathetic and a very polarizing figure."

Graham called the pro-cell stem research ad "shameless, uncivil, unproven and a very personal attack."

At the same time, Graham said, Limbaugh "needed to apologize for not realizing that Fox's symptoms have become quite severe."

To Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a monthly magazine about the talk-show industry, Limbaugh's polemics are "just show biz, folks."

"It's classic Rush, being politically incorrect," Harrison said. "He's in a business whose only mission is to generate ratings and revenue. It's not a matter of getting anyone elected. It's a matter of getting ears to tune in."

In that context, Limbaugh's apology for his comments about Fox was a "qualified apology," Harrison said, "not the apology where you express contrition and true regret."

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