CNN Prepares for the Long 2012 Race

For the past few months, CNN's John King has talked quite a bit about the early 2012 race on his 7 p.m. show, "John King USA." But in February, the CNN host expressed some frustration over what he dubbed the network's "Fox problem." At the time, would-be candidates Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were all under exclusive contract at Fox and could not appear on another network. Huckabee decided to keep his Fox News job and not run. Palin, who's still a Fox contributor, hasn't ruled out getting into the race. And candidates Santorum and Gingrich no longer work for the network.

Going forward, King said he doesn't expect CNN to have difficulties getting access to Republican candidates who may find more sympathetic ears among right-leaning cable hosts. He said that if candidates want to reach beyond their base before November 2012, they'll need to engage with a variety of media outlets -- whether a cable news host might agree with them or not. "Are these guys more comfortable going on Hannity or O'Reilly?" King asked, referring to the Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. "Maybe. Are most of them smart enough to know they can't just do that and get elected president? I think so. I think they have to be everywhere."