Ailes on Fox Biz: CNBC Had Better 'Kill Us in the Crib'

Roger Ailes is just as bellicose in his metaphors as in his politics.

Discussing his plans for Fox Business Network with corporate sibling The Wall Street Journal, Ailes compares himself to Civil War generals Stonewall Jackson and George McClellan, and declines to articulate his "offensive goals" vis a vis CNBC: "I think that was Israel's problem in Lebanon."

(Funny, you'd think a guy who digs combat so much might've found time to serve.)

Ailes seems to be of two minds over who deserves credit for CNBC's current dominance: himself or no one. First, he brags, "I put them on track 12 years ago," referring to his tenure as president of the business-news network.

But a little later, he decides CNBC's success is merely a product of circumstance: "They're winning -- because they're a monopoly. They're winning the same way CNN was winning when we came on the scene with Fox News."

He adds, "If they can't kill us in the crib now, it's only going to get worse from them for day to day."

The full interview, with Ailes's thoughts on Jim Cramer, Erin Burnett and how Fox News would cover a "Democrat presidency," is well worth reading. (So is this article, which shows how Ailes's use of that phrase betrays his partisan loyalties.)