Murdoch's foul theory of 9/11

The Murdoch theory of 9/11 may have had a significant impact on Obama's decision to tackle the news fiend head-on.

It must have been the last straw for Obama when a top environmental aide was pressured to resign after the Murdoch press made an issue of his doubts about the Murdoch theory of 9/11, which almost nobody believes after the 9/11 commission's top people themselves tore apart the credibility of the panel's report

Murdoch is ticked off, that's easy to see. He showed 'em by canning a token liberal and told investors that the White House controversy had driven ratings up. Yet, does he understand that there is no more reason to believe this claim than to believe his wingnut theory that 9/11 was no inside job or to believe much of anything else purveyed by his outlets?

It seems to me that today's news show broadside by David Axelrod does indeed damage Murdoch, no matter how Murdoch tries to squirm out of it. It focuses the nation's attention on the very, very serious problems of credibility and professionalism at Fox News. Many ordnary Americans -- not necessarily fire-breathing liberals -- will begin to think, you can't believe everything you hear on Fox.

Also, the idea that the sleaze factor is good for ratings doesn't necessarily mean advertising income will benefit. Advertisers don't like their products being sullied by a media outfit's sleaze factor and tend to shy away -- something Murdoch never accepted when he owned a string of U.S. papers.