Think about it this way: Would Barry Goldwater have won the Republican nomination in 1964 (or even run for it?) if he had been hosting a nightly right-wing talk show for the preceding three years, instead of serving in the Senate? For that matter, would Ronald Reagan the actor and speechmaker have become Ronald Reagan the governor and president if his famous “Time For Choosing” address had catapulted him to prominence as the host of “Reagan!” every night at 8?

There’s no question that had Fox been around in the 1960s and 1970s, the Republican politicians of that era would have sounded much more populist and right-wing. But come election season, the existence of a populist-conservative entertainment complex might have actually been good news for Nelson Rockefeller.