I'm in your boat, Mr. Tick--can't stand the smug bastard. But I do feel like a mountain is being made out of this particular molehill. Here's some lighthearted analysis from the folks at Pro Football Talk:

True to form, he blames the media for the outcry.  "There was no immediate reaction among fans or viewers that I heard of.  We had no phone calls here about it.  Only [Tuesday] when, I think, no less than four writers, columnists in Philadelphia newspapers started raising hell about this did it become a big issue." 

Rush also attempts to point to the fact that he has criticized white quarterbacks, too, including Kurt Warner and Vinny Testaverde.  

Perhaps Rush next will claim that some of his best friends are black quarterbacks.

Like him or not, Rush cooked his own big, fat goose when he attempted to weave his contempt for affirmative action and the media into the discussion on McNabb.  It was a classic "talent on loan from God" and "half my brain tied behind my back" moment, when Rush was going to connect the dots for all of us do-do's, allowing the great unwashed to then bask in the glow of his supreme intellect.

Of course, Rush's argument might have been even stronger if he'd also explained that the media bias in favor of McNabb was so powerful that it bamboozled Jeffrey Lurie, Joe Banner, and Andy Reid into giving McNabb a nine-figure contract last year.  

I think he could easily have made an argument for McNabb being overrated--his two backups, after all, carried that team last year, without any noticeable drop in quality--and for the defense carrying the team. Where he erred is in blaming the media for McNabb's perceived talent...in trying to manufacture some kind of conspiracy between reporters to elevate the status of black quarterbacks. Where's all the praise for Kordell Stewart? Quincy Carter? Jeff Blake? Aaron Brooks? Aren't Steve McNair and Daunte Culpepper subjected to just as much scrutiny and criticism as comparable white QBs? It's such a stupid argument, I'm inclined to believe that he was compelled to make it only by his dislike for affirmative action programs.

That having been said, I think he received some undue attention for this. There's a perception that conservative pundits are racist, which I'm sure denies Limbaugh the kind of credibility a white on-air personality needs if he wants to make these kinds of statements without provoking. And he's also sort of a jackass. He's made lots of hay out of bashing the media while also being a part of it...I think plenty of people were just waiting for something like this...for him to forget he wasn't on his own show, playing to Dittoheads.