By WALT BELCHER
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

The TV sets in the White House may not be tuned to Fox News Channel, but the favorite channel of the previous administration is riding high in the age of Obama.

So far this year, the network with the “fair and balanced” motto has widened its lead over its 24-hour cable news rivals, averaging more viewers in prime time than CNN and MSNBC combined.

Since Barack Obama took office, the network’s prime-time average is up 30 percent over last year, and the network’s 6 p.m. “Special Report with Bret Baier” is up 42 percent.

CNN has seen its audience drop from the highs seen last year during the hotly contested presidential race. And MSNBC, which enjoyed gains by emphasizing liberal commentators such a Rachel Maddow, isn’t growing as fast as FNC.

“The conventional wisdom among some liberal pundits was that Fox News would be in decline with this new administration, but we are thriving,” says Jay Wallace, vice president of News Editorial at Fox News Channel.

Hard Times Drive Ratings
Apparently those pundits didn’t take into account the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, which has fueled viewer interest in news.

Bill Shine, senior vice president for programming at Fox News, has said that because Obama is still enjoying a honeymoon with other media, viewers are turning to Fox, where his policies are met with skepticism.

“The economy is driving the ratings, and we are asking the tough questions,” Wallace says. “Our viewers appreciate that.”

Anchor Baier adds that while conservative viewers tune to the network’s opinionated talk shows, viewers of all political persuasions are coming to the newscasts, which he says are nonpartisan.

“We do try to be fair and balanced,” says Baier, who replaced semi-retired conservative anchor Brit Hume.

“We are straight down the middle on all of our news programs,” Baier says. “Viewers are concerned about their wallets in these uncertain times. And people on both sides of the political aisle are coming to us to get the whole story.”

Conservative Celebrities Drive Ratings, Too
Liberal MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann was one who predicted that Fox News Channel would do well with a Democrat in office.

During his Super Bowl visit to Tampa last month, Olbermann said Fox’s conservative pundits now have someone and something to rail against.

Much of Fox News’s overall ratings success comes from a trio of successful conservative talk shows hosted by Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly (who celebrates his 100th month as most-watched cable news host on Thursday).

On his blog, O’Reilly notes that “62 million Americans voted against Mr. Obama … folks who are uneasy with the direction of the country are not going to watch or read product from news organizations that are in the tank for Barack Obama.”

But Fox’s overall audience isn’t just conservative, though that may be the perception, because even Obama has joked that watching the network makes him feel bad about himself.

A recent study of viewers’ politics conducted by Pew Research Center found that Fox has the most balanced audience at 39 percent conservative, 33 percent liberal and 22 percent independent.

The CNN audience was 18 percent conservative, 51 percent liberal and 23 percent independent, while MSNBC’s viewers were 18 percent conservative, 45 percent liberal and 27 independent.

CNN’s political analysts and contributors offered up some of their predictions for the upcoming year.

THE POLL: Washington Post-ABC News poll of 772 likely Ohio voters (20 electoral votes).

THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama, 51 percent; John McCain, 45 percent.

OF INTEREST: Obama’s lead revolves around the worry about the economy. Those who say it is the biggest issue favor Obama 61-34 percent; those who say the biggest issue is something else back McCain 57-38 percent. Obama is generating more enthusiasm among his voters: 58 percent say they are very enthusiastic while 30 percent say the same about McCain. Women are solidly backing Obama 56-42 percent; in 2004 they split evenly between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Only about half of all Ohio voters think Obama is experienced enough to be president.

DETAILS: The poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 3-5 with 772 likely voters out of a total sample of 1,010 adults in Ohio. The sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
 
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THE POLL: A WISH-TV Indiana Poll of likely Indiana voters (11 electoral votes).

THE NUMBERS: John McCain 46 percent, Barack Obama 46 percent.

OF INTEREST: Most recent statewide polls have shown a tight race in Indiana, where a Democratic presidential candidate last won in 1964. A similar poll of the state by the same company released last week found McCain with 46 percent support to Obama’s 45 percent.
 
DETAILS: Conducted Sept. 29-Oct. 3 by telephone of 800 likely voters by Maryland-based Research 2000. Margin of error plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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THE POLL: CNN/Time magazine/Opinion Research Corp. of 859 likely voters in Wisconsin (10 electoral votes).

THE NUMBERS: Obama 51, McCain 46.

OF INTEREST: The poll is in line with other recent surveys showing Obama with a small lead in Wisconsin, but the race remains close. CNN says the numbers are enough to put Wisconsin in the “leaning toward Obama” category instead of a toss-up.
 
DETAILS: Conducted Oct. 3-6 by telephone. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

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WASHINGTON – Former President Clinton says if Democrats want someone to dump on John McCain, he’s not the guy.

Some members of his party have been complaining that Clinton has not been enthusiastic enough in his support for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who defeated Clinton’s wife in the primary campaign, and heaping too much praise on McCain.

But Clinton told CNN’s “Larry King Live” on Wednesday that he doesn’t think “dumping” on McCain or his running mate, Sarah Palin, is a winning strategy. He said undecided voters aren’t interested in attacks but solutions for the problems they face.

“I just don’t believe that getting up here and hyperventilating about Gov. Palin, or Sen. McCain for that matter, is a productive use of a former president’s time and is not a vote-getter,” he said, adding that he admires McCain even though he disagrees with several of his positions.

Clinton said he and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, gave vigorous endorsements to Obama at the national convention last month and that Hillary Clinton has traveled extensively on Obama’s behalf. That includes a tour of Michigan on Saturday.

“I think you can argue that she has done more than all other runner-ups have in the Democratic Party in 40 years,” the former president said. “We have been quite clear on this. We’re not party-wreckers, and we believe that the country needs to take a different course.”