I think Dionne’s argument about the recent Limbaugh controversy is a lame and self-serving attempt to dredge up his old 2003 column. But I think his old 2003 column has merit. I even thought so at the time. Dionne objected to ESPN’s hiring of Limbaugh as a commentator because it poisoned sports with politics. I’m not an avid follower of sports anymore, but I certainly get the point. Sports is supposed to be an escape from the other stuff in life (sort of like huffing glue is for me) and introducing a lightning rod like Limbaugh into the equation blurs the lines. Here’s Dionne back in 2003:

By contrast, the Limbaugh hire so reeked of marketing and politics that it was an insult to all sports fans whose political commitments lay elsewhere. Most of us who love sports want to forget about politics when we watch games. Sports, like so many other voluntary activities, creates connections across political lines. All Americans who are rooting for the Red Sox in the playoffs are my friends this month, no matter what their ideology.

(I wrote at the time that ESPN should have known what it was getting when it hired Limbaugh and so firing him for being Rush Limbaugh was not exactly a profile in courage — or brains).

The question I have for Dionne is this: Why isn’t he calling for Keith Olbermann to be fired from his NFL commentator gig? I guarantee you that a lot of people look at Olbermann and think, “Gawd, do I have to see that obnoxious left-wing tool?”

Or is it just liberals who deserve to enjoy sports without the intrusion of politics?