ANOTHER UNWINNABLE WAR

Dear Readers,

Freedom of speech -and by extension, freedom of the press - is perhaps our most cherished privilege, and I absolutely defend the right of the Fox News Channel to be as nasty, unfair and scathing in their non-stop criticism of the current administration as they wish to be. As their viewing figures reflect, many, many people agree with the 'fair and balanced' approach they peddle. But the Obama administration's 'war' against FNC is a futile one which they ought to know they will certainly lose, and for this group of supposedly smart people to waste even a second of the people's paid-for time on this battle is disappointing.

The struggles of the administration are already grist for the Fox mill on a daily basis, so why add a personalized feud to this feast as garnish? Like some scene from The Sopranos, White House major domo, David Axelrod and FNC overlord Roger Ailes recently had a 'sit down' at a NYC steak house to discuss ways of solving the problem, but nothing much has come of it to date. In fact, the shrillness from the Fox stable of highly-paid whiners has only increased, while bashing of the network and petty reprisals (like The President refusing to appear on Fox chat shows) has been the response from the Obama camp. And it's not like they should have expected that FNC would join in a new spirit of co-operation either, after all, the network is a barely-disguised right arm of the Republican Party - and always has been. If President Obama thinks that he's stepping into a boxing ring, expecting a fairly-refereed match, then think again; in the Fox corner is a gang pulling out switchblades, tire-irons and brass knuckles. It's the WWE, not the Marquess Of Queensbury rules, with WWE-sized ratings as well, which only FNC will reap the benefits of. The President's advisers would do well to remember who the Marquess Of Queensbury was, apart from the guy who devised boxing's basic rules. It was he that Oscar Wilde sued for slander (Queensbury accused him of 'posing as a sodomite' -strong stuff in them days), a case which Wilde lost, paving the way for his eventual arrest, conviction and imprisonment on morals charges. (One shudders as to what the Fox News Channel would have done with Wilde).

So, note to Axelrod: before your guy gets pummeled so badly that he has to end his career, please throw in the towel, there's no prize for your side in winning this bout anyway.