Ballad of the jumped shark

Fake-DA Fred Thompson, whose candidacy I never understood and whose conservative stripes never seemed that solid, goes after Fox News for not being Fair to him or Balanced about his chances of winning his party's nomination.

Rest assured, Fred Thompson will not be our next president, so as a campaign issue this little dust-up will probably be forgotten in a few days time.

What's interesting, almost fascinating, is Thompson's raw anger at Fox for treating him like a politician, rather than as a friend. There's nothing new about politicians feigning scorn at reporters, but Thompson speaks like a spurned spouse. He truly believes he deserves more from his friends at Fox. And his friends at Fox respond as though they were conducting an intervention, being careful not to offend but remaining steadfast in their goal of letting Thompson know he has a problem.

This is where the machine gums up. When your own people stop pretending and start holding you to account for not doing what you say you're not doing ... Man, it just gets too convoluted. The fourth wall comes down, the suspension of disbelief is no longer be suspended.

Well, that's according to me. I'm sure those with the right kind of faith will find a way to forge ahead. Even jumped sharks have to go on swimming.