The Talkmaster

His 5 million listeners love nationally syndicated talk-radio host neal boortz,

60, for his no-holds-barred acerbic style, but the self-described "Mighty Whitey" and "High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth" insists he's fairly shy. That's why the Atlanta-based Boortz says he "wouldn't even allow the radio show to be carried" in Naples, where he has a vacation home, until recently. Often described as right-wing, Boortz says he's Libertarian, conservative fiscally but not necessarily socially-he supports some gay rights and opposes conservative Christian influence in the Republican Party. He's also a lawyer and author, whose The FairTax Book, co-authored with Congressman John Linder, recently hit the No. 1 spot on The New York Times best-seller list. His Neal Boortz Show airs locally from 9 p.m. to midnight on WINK/WNOG radio station.

Q: What has listeners fired up these days?

A: Listeners get fired up over whatever I want them to get fired up over. Without any goading from me, [the issues] would be tax reform, government spending, the intrusiveness of government and that kind of stuff.

Q: After Katrina, you provoked a storm when you asked who should be rescued if resources are limited.

A: I offered several different opinions. For instance, if you concentrate on saving people in housing projects, who is going to contribute to rebuilding that society? I like doing things like that just to stir up

the puddin'. Another thing that really gets them going is when I go on the air and say the greatest incidence of child abuse in this country is taking your child and packing [him or her] off to

the government to be educated.

Q: Is any topic too controversial for you?

A: [I won't discuss] abortion. Everybody has their mind made up, nobody is going to listen to anybody else, and all you're going to do is make people mad.

Q: How has your radio persona changed over the years?

A: Back in 1969 when I started, I was a little bit more brash, a little bit less reasoned, a little bit less polished, a lot more doctrinaire conservative. Now I can still be brash, but there's a little more nuance to my opinions and what I say

on the air.

Q: Professionally, whom do you admire most?

A: Rush Limbaugh, because [he] pretty much single-handedly saved AM radio. The mistake Limbaugh made was moving to the east coast of Florida. Naples would probably be more attuned to the idea of treatment than persecution [for Limbaugh's painkiller addiction].

Q: Is there a message you try to get across?

A: I'm not there to deliver messages [or] to tout a cause. I'm there to attract listeners to radio stations. As far as my philosophy, [it's] freedom and personal responsibility.

Q: How do you spend your time in Naples?

A: I do a lot of writing; my current book was written for the most part in Naples last winter. I spend time with some friends and my wife. I like to explore the Everglades. And I have an airplane; I like to go flying, spend time on the beach, do a little boating.

Q: What's next for you?

A: I'm working on another book right now, called Somebody's Gotta Say It. I'll be working on that in Naples while I'm hiding down there. If somehow they could convince the population of Naples that you should move over [when cars are passing you on the right], that's just about all

we need to make the city nearly perfect.