Roger Ailes think nobody likes him because he's fat. Yeah, THAT'S it!

So Jonathon Alter, Bloomberg View columnist and frequent guest commentator on MSNBC, has written a book called "The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies."

Yesterday over at HuffPo they covered the book, but they focused on the book's coverage of Roger Ailes. Especially these 12 odd facts about the head of Fox News.

1. He Once Worked Out Of A Supply Closet 

Rupert Murdoch told senior staffers one Monday that Ailes was "convinced that the whole News Corp. building was bugged: 'Roger came in over the weekend to work in the only room that he thought was secure -- a supply closet.'" 

2. He Has A Terrorist Monitor At His Desk 

Ailes "had a television monitor on his desk that showed video of the empty hall outside his office so that he would have warning if terrorists were coming to kill him." 

3. He Tried To Bombproof His Office 

Ailes "tried to order bombproof glass for his office because he thought homosexuals outside News Corp. headquarters on Sixth Avenue might shoot at him. 

4. He Flipped Over A 'Muslim-Looking' Janitor

 Ailes "demanded that security throw a 'Muslim-looking' man out of the building and the man turned out to be a janitor." 

5. Murdoch Finds Him 'Cuckoo' But 'Amusing' 

Rupert Murdoch "routinely called Ailes 'cuckoo,' 'bonkers,' 'nuts,' and crazy,' but he also found Ailes's behavior amusing." 

6. He Has 24-Hour Security At His House 

Ailes has "round-the-clock security guards outside the locked gates of his Putnam County, New York estate." 

7. He Enters The Office Through The Side Door 

Ailes "insisted on entering News Corp.'s headquarters through a side door used by no other executives, not even Murdoch, who entered through the front." 

8. He Has Two Bodyguards 

Ailes "had two bodyguards escorting him into the building," while Murdoch only had one, who "doubled as his driver and left him at the curb." 

9. He Terrifies Current & Former Staffers 

Ailes terrified both current and former News Corp. staffers, and his "apparatchiks monitored their email like the Stasi and wreaked vengeance at his command." 

10. He Thinks People Hate Him Because Of His Weight 

Ailes, who "associates described as charming but unhinged and a little pathetic," would tell colleagues, "They hate me because I'm fat." 

11. He Had Chris Christie & Rush Limbaugh Over For A Secret Lunch 

Ailes hosted a meeting at his New York estate for Chris Christie in the fall of 2011. Rush Limbaugh flew in on his private jet to join. Ailes wanted Christie to run for President, but Christie gave three reasons why it wasn't the right time. "I still like to go to Burger King and I'm not going to lose it [the weight]" was one. 

12. He Was Tough On Obama In Their One Meeting 

Ailes, Murdoch and Obama had a tense meeting in 2008, in which Obama "demanded to know why he was accused of being a terrorist on Fox every night." Ailes denied it, and claimed that his biggest concern was that he "wasn't sure Obama would defend the sovereignty of the United States." After Obama left, Murdoch told Ailes: "Boy, you were tough on him." 

13. He Threatened To Quit When Murdoch Told Him To Ease Up On Obama 

Ailes threatened to quit Fox News after Murdoch "pushed him to moderate Fox's coverage of Obama." He was given a "lucrative five-year contract" instead. (There is video interview with Jonathon Alter on HuffPo as well.)

Personally I found it interesting that Roger Ailes is afraid of a terrorist trying to kill him when Fox News has been doing everything they can to help them terrify the American people since even before the Bush administration. If anything you would think that Ailes expected to be made an honorary terrorist.

Hey maybe THAT'S why he is trying to keep them out of the building?

I was also surprised that President Obama agreed to meet with Ailes, though I imagine that the chance to confront a man who has made his job so incredibly difficult must have been compelling.

What I am NOT surprised to learn is that the same paranoia and hatred for Obama that permeates Fox News seems to emanate directly from Jabba the Roger. The organization is essentially an appendage of a man who has hated liberals since the Nixon administration.

Of course Ailes could not let this Huffington Post article stand without SOME response.

This courtesy of Mediaite: 

“Jonathan Alter is living in an altered universe. His fantasies about a man to whom he once applied for a job and was rejected, seem to carry an enormous amount of personal malice. Nearly 100% of the items he lists in his book are factually inaccurate and are in fact complete, outright fiction. This is a desperate attempt to smear Fox News and a few of the items have already been disproved in other books. He appears to have no legitimate sources for his screed. 

Ailes playfully said the only thing he’ll cop to is ‘being fat.’ As he told Zev Chafets in his recent book, Off Camera, ‘My doctor told me that I’m old, fat and ugly, but none of those things is going to kill me immediately.’ Ailes added recently, ‘I told my doctor I’m seeking a second opinion.’ Needless to say, we’re surprised that Simon & Schuster allowed this book to survive with no fact checking whatsoever. It’s sad — Jonathan Alter used to be a journalist.”

So essentially it comes down to who are you going to believe, Roger Ailes mastermind of the least ethical news organization in the world? Or Jonathon Alter?

Oh yeah, THAT'S a conundrum.