AUTHOR: CONSERVATIVES CLAMOR FOR RUSH

Paul Shanklin isn't a household name, but his voice is.

The 32-year-old owner of a ServiceMaster franchise in Memphis has a knack for imitating Bill Clinton. His parodies of Clinton and Ross Perot have been a regular feature of Rush Limbaugh's radio show the past year.

To the 20 million people who tune in Limbaugh's conservative radio talk show each week, Shanklin is the raspy-voiced, off-key singing president.

Last year, Shanklin scored a big hit with Limbaugh fans. Tinkering with the lyrics to the Beatles' song "Yesterday," Shanklin sang a tune in his Clinton voice.

"Yesterday, all my troubles started with the gays," the song begins.

Shanklin visited Rush Limbaugh's hometown Thursday, joining up with Limbaugh supporter and author Dean King at the SEMO District Fair.

King is co-author of a new book, "Rush to Us: Americans Hail Rush Limbaugh." The book focuses on the legion of Americans who listen religiously to Rush.

King, who spent part of the day at the fair autographing books, views Cape Girardeau as "the mecca" for Rush fans.

Shanklin drove up from Memphis for the day.

King, a free-lance writer from New York, is on a 10-day book-signing tour that began Monday in Houston and will end Wednesday in Washington.

King is accompanied by his wife, Jessica, and their 3-month-old daughter, Hazel.

It is easy to notice the Kings in a 37-foot motor home outfitted with a billboard on the side proclaiming the book and an electronic sign board on the back that continuously touts the book and Rush for all to see.

"People honk and give us a thumbs up," King said.

The huge motor home is owned by Bob and Pat Worn of Bossier City, La., near Shreveport. The Worns came along for the ride, as did their Shih Tzu, "Duffy," a dog that salutes with one paw.

King, Shanklin and the others spent a couple hours Thursday visiting with Limbaugh's mother, Millie, at her home.

Worn, a retired Air Force major who was shot down twice in Vietnam, is an ardent Limbaugh fan.

He serves as sergeant at arms for the Rush Limbaugh Supper Club, a Shreveport area group that attracts as many as 250 people to its monthly gatherings.

King visited the Worn home when he researched the book. Bob Worn is mentioned in the book, as are Shanklin and hundreds of other Rush fans.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle wrote the foreword for the book, making mention of his 1992 campaign stop in Cape Girardeau.

Quayle recalled that the crowd registered loud disapproval when he announced he wasn't in town to give a partisan speech.

"I quickly changed gears, threw aside my speech and served up some feisty conservative partisanship," he wrote. "They were strong in number, focused in their conviction and unanimous in their approval."

King said he and fellow conservative Geoffrey Morris wrote the book because "we saw the media as painting a very narrow, unflattering picture of the Rush Limbaugh listeners."

Among other things, the book points to Limbaugh's popularity with conservative black listeners.

King said he and Morris talked to hundreds of Rush fans across the country, from a high school student in Alaska to an Idaho ranch woman who listens to Rush in her pickup truck.

"I found a very diverse listening group," he said.

It is also a ready-made audience for Shanklin, who is forever thinking of new Clinton parodies to perform.