Politico.com

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America has quietly launched an initiative aimed at making Obama supporters' voices heard on the largely conservative airwaves.

Friends and associates are encouraging Fox News chief Roger Ailes to jump into the political arena for real by running for president in 2012. He answers, "This country needs fair and balanced news more now than ever before, so I'm going to decline a run for the presidency. Besides, I can't take the pay cut."

Fox News has taken a relatively cautious line toward the White House attacks on the network, leaving the real fireworks to Glenn Beck, who Monday accused the White House of being "more worried about the war on Fox than the actual war in Afghanistan."

At a time of tension between their organizations, White House senior adviser David Axelrod met with Fox News chairman and chief executive officer Roger Ailes two weeks ago.

In a more sensible world, media firestorms would be doused by the cold water of common sense.

Ratcheting up her offensive against the news media, Gov. Sarah Palin's attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish "defamatory" stories relating to whether soon-to-be former-Gov Palin is under federal investigation.

Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said Friday she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper's own reporters and editors.

When the Obama Administration threw open the floodgates in February, inviting all 1.9 million federal employees to stretch their imaginations and propose ideas on how the government could be more transparent, no one was prepared for what came pouring back.

The political sea change brought by Democratic dominance that's already affecting the energy and health care sectors is about to wash over a new one: technology. President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate later this month — and activists expect him to ramp up efforts to ensure equal access on the Internet.

Asked in his Monday briefing if the White House would consider bailing out the newspaper business, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters the government may not have the power to reverse the industry's decline.