Limbaugh Guiltless Addict?

I've been noting the Rush Limbaugh apologists coming to the man's defense. I don't think this is what George Bush meant by compassionate conservatism, but the right-wing media has certainly closed ranks around him in a womb of rationalization. Among the expressions of concern for Limbaugh's well being, the apologists have described his addiction to painkillers as unintended, accidental, circumstantial: "My God! He had back surgery." His addiction is somehow different than your everyday addiction, these people are, in effect, arguing. The crack addict, heroin addict, or marijuana addict, well, they deserve imprisonment, ostracization, and disenfranchisement because they are true addicts. Limbaugh deserves our sympathy because he is an accidental addict, a victim.
   I guess it depends on what your definition of "is" is.