  We consider the implications of recent infrared and radio observations of the
nucleus of NGC 4258. There is no direct evidence that the nucleus has been
steadily accreting on the viscous timescale of the outer masing disk, which is
>~ 10^9 \yr. Thus the mass accretion rate in the outer disk need not be the
same as in the inner accretion flow where most of the gravitational binding
energy is released. We show that an advection-dominated flow model with a
transition radius of \sim (10-100) M (where M is the mass of the hole) and
\mdot \approx 10^{-2}\msun \yr^{-1} is consistent with the observed spectrum
from radio to X-rays. We also show that a thin (flat or warped) disk can fit
the observed fluxes outside the X-ray band. The X-rays can be explained by
means of a corona in such a model, but the absence of radio emission from the
location of the putative central black hole provides a serious constraint on
the properties of the corona. A wide range of accretion rates, 10^{-4} <~ \mdot
<~ 10^{-2} \msun\yr^{-1}, can be made to fit the data, but the most ``natural''
models have 10^{-3} <~ \mdot <~ 10^{-2} \msun\yr^{-1}. Physical conditions in
the observed VLBI jet features can also be related to conditions in the inner
accretion flow. We conclude with a list of future observations that might help
to constrain the accretion rate.
