There is no way in which this can be seen as good. Back in 1979 and 1980, Ronald Reagan, the actor, disappeared from the airwaves because running Bedtime For Bonzo at 3 a.m. Sunday morning counted as a political advertisement under the old fairness doctrine (which President Reagan scrapped). Fast forward 26 years.

A leading candidate for the Republican ticket has bought the single largest broadcaster for the Neocon movement.

Yes, I know that this story is nearly a month old, but it doesn’t seem to have escaped out of the wonkosphere yet.

From Clear Channel Communications:

Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a global leader in the out-of-home advertising industry, today announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement with a group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. and Bain Capital Partners, LLC, pursuant to which the group will acquire Clear Channel in a transaction with a total value of approximately $26.7 billion, including the assumption or repayment of approximately $8.0 billion of net debt.

The out-of-home advertising industry? Do you see the word radio in there anywhere?

Regardless, Clear Channel does own 8 percent of the radio stations in the United States. That’s not a large percentage, but significant because Clear Channel broadcasts Rush Limbaugh and other Neocon talk show hosts.

Where does Romney come in? He is one of three founders of Bain Capital Partners.

Do you think Limbaugh and the rest will recuse themselves from talking about the Republican candidates because their boss is running? Is it possible that everytime Limbaugh mentions Romney he’ll append: my employer?

I would expect that Romney will make claims of having locked his involvement with Bain behind a firewall so that his ownership can have nothing to do with the radio stations.

But can you imagine the scenerio where Limbaugh gets behind say Huckabee and Romeny wins by a razor-thin margin? Do you think Limbaugh is fuzzy headed enough to believe in that scenerio that broadcast independence would have no effect on his future employment?

Should a poltical candidate be allowed to buy a media company in this way?