What is there to say about Tucker Carlson that hasn't already been said? It's a question I've been asking myself all morning, thanks to a recent glut of Carlson-centric essays and examinations in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, among other prestige outlets. Why is it that Carlson, of all people, is worthy of this sort of fascination-bordering-on-obsession from so many — or at least, why do those that choose to profile Tucker think he holds that fascination among the rest of us?
In part, the answer is obvious: Carlson is almost certainly the most influential broadcaster on television today. He is the lynchpin of Fox News's ongoing ratings boom, so much so that the network has given him a second, daytime show on top of his juggernaut evening program. While Fox News's most bankable personality may not be an actual journalist in the eyes of the law, Rupert Murdoch and Co. are apparently more than happy to give him a lofty platform upon which he can pretend to be one anyway. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Carlson, with his outsized ability to direct and dictate the conservative agenda of the day, would be such a figure of fascination.
