The Fox News Candidate Is ... Fox News

This chaotic and raucous primary season is demonstrating that Roger Ailes will put the interests of his network ahead of all else.

If 2010 was the year that Fox fueled the tea party — culminating in record ratings and the Republican sweep of the House midterms — 2012 is shaping up to be the year that Ailes decided Fox will benefit if the political world recognizes that his network is willing to make GOP candidates sweat in front of their base. Like any good candidate, the network plans to tack toward the center for the general election. It's a complex game Ailes is playing. Conversations with Fox sources and media executives suggest a new strategy: Fox is trying to credibly capture the center without alienating its loyal core of rabid viewers. To this end, the network is flexing its news-gathering muscles in high-profile ways that will capture media attention.

Why bother? Partly as a preemptive measure against CNN.