• Harry Reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today. I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart.  As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.
• President Barack Obama • Regarding the controversy around Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reportedly saying something racist about him. Obama forgave quickly, but Fox News is portraying it as an orchestrated campaign to downplay the comments’ impact. And RNC chairman Michael Steele, our generation’s Carlton from “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, says Reid should resign. Should he? source

• Is Roger Ailes more powerful than Rupert Murdoch? We know that’s a controversial statement, but hear us out. The Fox News chief not only made more money than Murdoch himself last year (and put up the kind of numbers that made him deserve the paycheck), but the level of influence the guy wields arguably has a wider reach in politics. It’s something that’s directly affected elections and regularly pushes the news cycle forward. And it makes some members of the Murdoch family (who aren’t Rupert) uncomfortable.

A media icon with massive influence

• Regardless of whether you like what he is doing, Roger Ailes is one of the most creative talents of his generation. He has built a media empire that is capable of driving the conversation, and, at times, the political process.
• CNN political analyst David Gergen • Regarding the influence of Roger Ailes, who runs Fox News and has since 1996. Ailes got his start with the Nixon campaign and often brings that sort of political experience to the channel, controlling the conversation with pinpoint focus. source

Three events that defined Roger Ailes’ career

• Don’t sell TV short Back in 1967, Ailes, then a producer on “The Mike Douglas Show,” bluntly told Richard Nixon that television wasn’t a gimmick and he needed to focus on it. His hardnosed response led to a role in the administration, the role of which was played up in the book “The Selling of the President 1968.” source
• Willie Horton, superstar Ailes is largely responsible for turning convicted murderer Willie Horton into a household name during the 1988 presidential election. Horton was released from prison in Massachusetts on Michael Dukakis’ dime, and Horton’s face dominated TV during the era. It also helped to ensure a George H. W. Bush victory. source
• America’s Talking Before the consultant started Fox News, Ailes conceived the talk-show-focused MSNBC precursor America’s Talking, which had a cult following (and led to the success of Chris Matthews) but ultimately faltered. In 2009, Fox started using the “America’s Talking” tagline. How ironic. It’s almost like a dart in NBC’s eye. source

Fox News rules the ratings

• eight the number of consecutive years the network has led the cable news ratings roost
• 16% increase in 2009’s ratings Fox News had over 2008; crazy part – it wasn’t even an election year
• 96% increase in Glenn Beck’s ratings after moving to Fox News from Headline News in 2009 source

How much money does Roger Ailes make Fox News?

• $700 million the amount Fox News makes in profit for News Corp. yearly – more than all the other major TV news outlets combined
• $23
  million the amount Fox News head Roger Ailes made last year – which is more than Rupert Murdoch, his boss made last year source

• Too much influence? Some of Rupert Murdoch’s own family members have questioned just how much influence the guy has in the News Corp. corporate food chain. “I am by no means alone within the family or the company in being ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to,” said Matthew Freud, who’s married to Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth. source

Could he run for president? It’s possible

• Friends have suggested he run in 2012. Ailes has influence and knowledge so strong that he could realistically have a shot if he took his political knowledge to the polls. “I have known Roger Ailes for 29 years,” says well-known Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “No one knows how to win better than Roger.” Ailes denies such claims, but the option’s always open just in case. source

• He was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama – a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he said privately.
• Journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann • In their new book, “Game Change,” regarding Harry Reid. Reid, of course, is the Senate Majority Leader, and a line like this could hurt his political career. Reid obviously and quickly apologized. “I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans,” Reid said, “especially African Americans for my improper comments.” The book itself covers a the 2008 presidential race and how Obama was reportedly pressured to run. Awesome. source

• Are the “Good Old Days” gone? In response to Fox News talking heads going on about how we’ve lost our innocence, “The Daily Show’s” John Oliver tried looking for said innocence, and wasn’t able to find it. Decade by decade, he found that it was just as bad. Freaking hilarious. Depressing. And awesome. All at once, guys.

• We know what happened, we know what didn’t happen, and we know how to fix it. That should be an encouraging aspect. We don’t have to reinvent anything to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
• National security adviser James Jones • Regarding the soon-to-be-released security report. The report, out today, will note that a lot of things were missed. And they need to fix them. “That’s two strikes,” said Jones, regarding the Fort Hood shooting and the Underwear Bomber. source

• “They’re all white. All of them, every single one of them is white.” Chris Matthews is a wee bit obsessed with the race of the Tea Partiers, noting that he doesn’t see a single non-white person in the mix. It’s a line begging for rebuke. And wouldn’t you look at that! There’s a couple black tea partiers, right on cue! source

• 40% of people identify themselves as conservative
• 36% call themselves moderates and other bad words
• 21% say they’re really freaking liberal and don’t think it’s a bad word source

• I think he had his eight years, and he’s caused a lot of trouble for our country and perpetuated a war in Iraq unnecessary and wrong-headed. I would say it would be best he not be so critical right now.
• Rep. Ron Paul • Suggesting that Dick Cheney is out of his element in criticizing the Obama administration’s security policies. Granted, Paul isn’t exactly GOP leadership, but he is also somebody people know and also in Cheney’s party. So it’s interesting that he’s saying this about the guy. source

• That was the most unrealistic loss of satellite feed we’ve ever seen. It comes up in the last 20 seconds of the clip, but it’s worth watching, because it comes out of nowhere and the Fox News host appears not to be surprised by the cutoff at all, like she knew it was coming. Rep. Joe Sestak lost his final word as a result of the kerfluffle.

• Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product.
• U2 lead singer Bono • Regarding file-sharing’s danger to the content industries. As crazy as this quote is, it starts out even crazier: “But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content.” This guy is just as arrogant and full of it as the glasses and haircut (and crappy recent music) suggest. He compared file sharing to child porn and free speech. source