Murdoch has acquired political power in a fashion similar to Ecclestone's conquest of Formula One racing. I guess because I am in Indy, I ponder such matters as F-1, particularly since we no longer see it raced here. The guy who took over F-1, Bernie Ecclestone, rose Bormann-esque through the F-1 bureaucracy to take over that form of racing world-wide. Nobody paid him much attention until it was too late.

Murdoch was born in Australia, and naturalized as a citizen in the United States. He has taken over newspapers and acquired broadcast licenses with little fanfare. Yet a candidate for Prime Minister in Great Britain will fly to him for his blessing. He controls broadcast licenses here and is able to propagate over the public airwaves as he wishes.

Maybe there are some people who like F-1. I know a few. Mainly, though, Ecclestone has made F-1 his personal fiefdom, and screwed it up in the process.