ProgressOhio

Fox News has reason to rejoice as President Obama marks the media-manufactured milestone of his first 100 days in office. The conservative cable network's ratings are sky high under the new Democratic president. Yes, it looks like it couldn't be happier serving as "the voice of [Obama's] opposition," to paraphrase Fox News senior vice president Bill Shine.

Not surprisingly, Fox's success as the president's "opposition" stands in stark contrast to the way Americans now view Obama. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, Obama enjoys the "best job approval rating at this point in 20 years," with 69 percent of Americans approving of the job he's doing. Further, the poll found that "half of Americans now [say] the country's headed in the right direction," as opposed to the scant 19 percent holding that view just before Obama's inauguration.

So, what gives? Apparently, Fox's definition of "fair and balanced" has nothing to do with the practice of good journalism -- where fairness means truth and balance means exploring all sides of an issue. No, it is only offering up the "yin" to America's "yang."

Earlier this month, Fox even threw a nationwide party -- a "tea party," if you will -- to celebrate its "opposition" to Obama and his policies. That's right. Despite encouraging viewers to "say 'no' to biased media," Fox News jumped the shark with dramatic flair, airing dozens of segments imploring its audience to get involved with tea-party protests across the country described by the network as primarily a response to the president's fiscal policies. In all, Fox aired 107 ads for its coverage of tea-party protests. Over a 10-day period, you were more likely to see Fox pushing its revolt against Democratic Washington than you were to see commercials featuring that familiar troupe of singing pirates extolling the virtues of free credit reports.

For all the fun and games on display at its tea parties -- cries of fascism, tyranny, and socialism abounded, as did wild conspiracy theories -- Fox hasn't abandoned the perverse "they're coming to get us" mantra that has underscored its coverage of late.

Read More of the coverage of the first 100 days At Media Matters