From actor to object: Political influence, political entertainers, and the symoblic construction of Rush Limbaugh during the 2008 US Presidential election

This dissertation highlights dynamics of American political culture contributing to the development of political talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh's political influence. Current research suggests Limbaugh's political capital is produced from an ability to generate valuable advertising space for media organizations, his role as an opinion leader of a politically active audience, or his position within mediated political networks. Regardless of explanation all assert that Limbaugh's inclusion into national news and commentary legitimates and reflects Limbaugh's pre-existing political capital. The research presented here contends that the role of the press must be reevaluated as a possible causal factor in establishing his political influence. Drawing from the analytical and empirical resources of Cultural Sociology this dissertation argues that cultural structures manifest in the press create a 'public image' of the talk show host. In this way Limbaugh is no longer just a political actor. He also becomes a symbolic political object. By richly recreating news and commentary centered on the 2008 US Presidential elections containing Limbaugh textual analysis can be used to provide evidence for the existence of these dynamics. In turn alternative explanations of Limbaugh's influence in the US political public sphere, along with other political entertainers like him, can be further evaluated.