NEW YORK NOTEBOOK : In the Enemy Camp

Perhaps the loneliest man in the Madison Square Garden complex this week is Rush Limbaugh, left, the conservative Republican host of a radio talk show who broadcasts from a small studio near the Garden. Though the streets are filled with Democrats, he is fighting the good fight. “You are surrounded by 5,000 of the best professional pickpockets of all time, the Democratic Party,” Limbaugh quipped to The Times. “All they are talking about is raising taxes.” What does he think of the Clinton-Gore ticket? “It is a great-looking ticket physically, but it is being passed off as too perfect. These people never threw spitballs at school.” Limbaugh said Democratic convention planners are learning from the GOP. “They have marching bands and flags. They are really looking American.”