So when January ratings showed that Fox had fallen to a 12-year low, left-leaning media and folks like Ms. Dunn declared it the beginning of the end for the house that Ailes built.

Meanwhile, the President’s State of the Union Address was the lowest-rated such speech since 2000.

So what do the two have in common?

Fatigue, primarily. Fatigue from two years of election coverage. Fatigue from political commentary and politics in general. It’s overexposure to politics on the Flo-from-the-Progressive-commercials exposure level. In short, some Fox viewers were disenchanted, tired of it all and simply needed a timeout (and the network still took nine of the top ten spots).

For the President, same deal: Between November’s resounding victory, non-stop fiscal cliff coverage and the inauguration speech, he’s reached the Kardashian exposure apex. He’s now on vacation, one that both he and the public have earned to take from each other.