To grassroots political conservatives from coast to coast, his name alone is enough to bring on an adrenaline “rush.” He is their media leader, their official voice. And, to the extent that his extraordinary public influence contributed largely to the Republicans’ 1994 takeover of Congress, he is their political savior. No wonder the Rush Limbaugh show is a broadcasting phenomenon, reaching 20 million listeners each week over more than 600 radio stations nationwide.

Not even his most ardent fans would call Limbaugh shy or modest. With the air of one who knows his power, he devotes virtually all of his show’s three hours, five days a week, to a one-man all-out attack on those he perceives as “the enemy” — the nation’s political liberals from the President on down, women’s rights activists he calls “feminazis,” and “environmentalist wackos” —all the while reminding his audience that his talent is “on loan from God,” and that he does his show with “half his brain tied behind his back just to make it fair.”

When he is not issuing his own conservative commentary, Limbaugh accepts phone calls from listeners. His rare on-air guests are among the upper echelon of the Republican Right, such as President George Bush who called Limbaugh to the White House in 1992 asking for the broadcaster’s public support in the upcoming election campaign.

Aware that there are many in his audience who devour his every word as conservative gospel, Limbaugh provides them more than his daily political sermons: His two published books, “The Way Things Ought to Be” and “See, I Told You So,” rose quickly to the top of the best-seller list. He followed them with an audio cassette, “American Dream,” and a videotape, “Sometimes You Just Gotta Laugh.” It has reached the point where some restaurants have set aside “Rush Rooms,” where Limbaugh devotees can hear his show even while dining.

As busy a schedule as Limbaugh maintains, he finds time to hit selected stops on the lecture circuit as one of the nation’s most sought after — and highly paid — speakers. Limbaugh admits that, wherever he goes, he is “preaching to the choir,” but keeping the faithful fulfilled has its own political and personal rewards.

The unprecedented success of the Rush Limbaugh Show has literally changed the face of talkradio, as stations throughout the U.S. take on an increasingly conservative stance in an effort to follow his high-ratings popularity. None have come close, because Limbaugh’s extreme right-wing conservatism is only part of his secret; it’s his in-your-face, take-no-enemies style of delivery that draws listeners who share his views and demand nothing less than such narrowly focused conviction.