What Does Rush Limbaugh Look For In Miss America?

Rush Limbaugh was a judge for the Miss America Pageant Saturday evening, looking rather dapper in a tuxedo as he sat in judgment of a map’s worth of young lovelies vying for the crown. When asked by co-host Gretchen Carlson — yes, that Gretchen Carlson, she of Fox & Friends but also of the 1989 Miss America Crown — what he looked for in a Miss America, he said “poise, confidence, articulation — and she must like herself.” I think by “articulation” he meant that she should be articulate, but ironically that’s actually not what that word means. Awkward. More awkward: That whole “liking herself” thing. Sorry, but after Carrie Prejean, hoping a pageant contestant will “like herself” sounds sorta creepy.

I don’t mean to rag on Rush, he gives good TV even if he’s a little off on the vocab, and the crowd seemed to like him, cheering even louder for him than Shawn Johnson and Vivaca Fox (Gawker’s Matt Cherette caught a few boos), but Limbaugh was clearly off the cheer-o-meter as far as our video clip goes. Also, he’s a good sport: He gamely shook his booty to Lady Gaga‘s “Poker Face” in the pre-show, getting down so much so that he elicited a genuine “Give it up for Rush Limbaugh!” He was clearly not bluffin’ with his muffin. Even if his oration could use a little articulation.

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