Rush Limbaugh does not hide his egomania, and we understand it is part of his blustering pundit act, but there are times when even his ditto-headed fans should tune him out.

The radio show bloviator, as most know by now, attempted to join a group of investors interested in purchasing the St. Louis Rams National Football League team. But after outcries from everyone from civil rights leaders to African American NFL players and coaches, he was cut from the investor squad headed by the owner of the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Mr. Limbaugh, who had re-mained relatively quiet on the issue, immediately erupted and said his ouster was "about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

Really?

The reason he wasn't allowed to join an NFL management team, Mr. Limbaugh spouted, was because "the left in this country" is out to "destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative."

As we said, one colossal ego. Let's leave aside for a moment the argument that conservatives have placed themselves outside the mainstream with narrow-minded intolerance and a refusal to compromise to get important bills passed. In his own case, Mr. Limbaugh can't seem to grasp that he is a mainstream figure because of his nationally broadcast radio program -- or that he has used his prominence to mercilessly insult and deride liberals and those who might vote for them, often

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disingenuously.

Naturally, he has made enemies, particularly among African Americans, especially among African American football players, because of his comments as an ESPN pre-game analyst about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. He opined that Mr. McNabb was portrayed as a better player than he actually is because he is black, and "the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."

That got Mr. Limbaugh fired from ESPN, to the surprise of few outside his rabid fan base.

This is the same commentator who routinely mocks and vilifies those individuals and groups not among the power elite in this country. He defends the establishment and harps on the foibles of those struggling at the bottom of the economic pile and anyone who would help them. Naturally, quite a few people can't stomach him, with good reason.

Mr. Limbaugh fills the bully's role of defending the haves and deriding the have-nots. But his sacking as an investor in the Rams' sale should not be confused with the decline and fall of America. It is about him and his mouth. There are many prominent American conservatives who could be included in that investment group and no one would bat an eyelash. In fact, it is unlikely that more than a small percentage of current owners of pro sports franchises are liberals.