terms of endearment

When the New York Times says,..."a number of prominent conservatives say critics have been smeared" by being called racists in their attacks on Obama, and then quotes Rush Limbaugh, I just, frankly, don't know what to think. Do they consider Rush Limbaugh a "prominent conservative"? As far as I can tell, he's a prominent lunatic, and very obviously, just according to things he's actually said on his actual radio program a prominent racist. So what do they mean by quoting him as if he's a perfectly reasonable opposition figure? This is a step that's very far down the slipperly slope to total, fascistic chaos, and an editor at the Times either let it go by or inserted it him/herself.