Republican strategist Karl Rove Wednesday remembered late conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh as not only a star in his field but as a symbol of "middle America" and someone who never "never forgot who he was and who his friends were."
"I was at Rush's wedding," Rove told Fox News. "My wife and I were invited to his wedding. It was a wonderful day. Here were two people who were deeply in love with each other. It was a day of joy, to see Rush as I've known him for years, as the pugnacious, opinionated radio host, strong conservative, and he was like a schoolboy, smitten with his girl. It was a great, great day."
Limbaugh, he added, was "the son of humble beginnings, who worked his way up by the bootstraps."
"He'd go to dinner . . . there would be people he met with his first job in radio, or bought ads the first time he went on cable radio," Rove said.
Limbaugh was also "intensely patriotic," said Rove, who served as an adviser to President George W. Bush, recalling the time he found out the talk show host had never eaten in the White House Mess, where senior White House officials often dine.
"Rush was overcome with emotion. There he was in the storied West Wing of the White House," Rove said. "He was in the boardroom. People came by to pay their respects to him. He was overcome with emotion that he could partake in a meal at the White House amongst the working crew. I was touched by, touched that here was a man that influenced nations, created a movement."