Searching for Winners

Limbaugh Watch

Rush Limbaugh denounced John McCain yesterday over a letter written on his behalf by Bob Dole, accusing McCain's presidential campaign of "a dirty little trick."

"Senator McCain, I think what you are doing here is disgraceful," Limbaugh said shortly after noon on his nationally syndicated radio show.

In a letter to the talk show host Monday, released by the McCain camp, Dole wrote: "I know that you have serious reservations about Senator McCain. McCain is a friend and I proudly wore his P.O.W. bracelet bearing his name while he was still a guest at the 'Hanoi Hilton.' " The former Senate majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee wrote that McCain was a mainstream conservative on numerous issues and that "whoever wins the Republican nomination will need your enthusiastic support. Two terms for the Clintons are enough."

The Dole note intensified the sparring between the Arizona senator and his chief rival. Mitt Romney said yesterday morning on "Fox and Friends": "It's probably the last person I would have wanted write a letter for me . . . I think there's a lot of folks who tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race."

McCain responded on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" by accusing the former Massachusetts governor of the "disgraceful" slandering a World War II hero and demanding that he apologize to Dole.

On the radio show, Limbaugh accused McCain of "manipulating" Dole: "Senator McCain is resorting to the same kind of politics as Hillary Clinton." Criticizing a Politico.com headline that "Dole Scolds Limbaugh," the conservative commentator noted the friendly tone of the letter and said: "This shows how willing the media are to be manipulated by Senator McCain."

Limbaugh accused the McCain campaign of leaking a private letter. But Dole made clear, in an appearance on "Hannity & Colmes" Monday night, that he expected the note to Limbaugh to be made public.

By the way, Rush clarified a comment he made to me that has gotten a lot of pickup: "If I believe the country will suffer with either Hillary, Obama or McCain, I would just as soon the Democrats take the hit . . . rather than a Republican causing the debacle." Limbaugh said the key word was "if," meaning he would decide by the fall campaign whether to abandon the GOP ticket if McCain is the nominee.