Opinion: Axelrod’s coffee diplomacy with Ailes. Yeah, but will Fox now carry Obama speeches?

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It was described as a ‘cordial conversation’ between White House political guru David Axelrod and Fox News founder Roger Ailes, a meeting over coffee in the shadows of the U.N. General Assembly two weeks ago.

The demitasse diplomacy, first reported Tuesday by Politico.com, is unlikely to result in a cease-fire between the network, which is enjoying a ratings boost largely off the anti-Obama rhetoric of hosts like Glenn Beck, and the White House, where President Obama has complained about ‘one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration.’

Salon’s Alex Koppelman argues that the two sides need each other. Fox is ‘in the midst of a ratings boom that seems directly attributable to anti-Obama feeling in its audience,’ he said. As for the White House, Fox provides ‘a convenient target when it wants to criticize the media.’

We’re betting the White House would rather have less thunder from the right. What do you think?

-- Johanna Neuman

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