As you probably guessed, we’re mourning in Soxblog Manor over the departure of Melinda Doolittle last night. Mrs. Soxblog has even vowed to boycott the season finale.

Assuming she follows through with her bluster on the topic, Mrs. Soxblog will be far from alone. Although I remain enamored with Idol, the program is showing some creakiness. The ratings the last several weeks have been the worst in years. On Tuesday, “House” did better in the desirable “young people with nothing better to do than watch TV on a weeknight” demographic. This is the first time A.I. hasn’t won that demo since the earth cooled. Scratch that – it’s the second. It also happened last week.

So what gives? Some people think it’s because this year’s talent isn’t up to snuff. I don’t buy that explanation. I think the top 3 this year are much better than last year’s. As a matter of fact, every member of this year’s top 3 is better than every member of last year’s top 3.

THE EFFORT TO DIAGNOSE WHAT AILS AMERICAN IDOL necessarily brings us close to the realm of political matters. My friend Jonathan Last traces the downfall to the execrable evening when Idol “gave back.” The very special episode I’m referring to was erroneously called “Idol Gives Back.” Oddly, I didn’t see Idol, its producers, or its talent giving back anything. All I saw was them shaking down the sponsors and viewers who made them rich to “give back.”

But that was only the leading edge of the horror that evening presented. For two hours, we had to endure gruesome footage from the most afflicted corners of the world. This is all well and good to a point; spreading awareness of the plight of the less fortunate is a noble thing. However, most of us who watch Idol do so to escape the harsh realities of the real world. Besides, as a matter of pop culture interference, the music industry gave African poverty its best crack with Live Aid and “We Are the World.” Perhaps some problems are so intractable even celebrities can’t fix them with just a few hours of work.

But the problem with that particular evening didn’t end there. Speaking as just one viewer, the only reason I hung in there for two hours of guilt-trips was to see who would get kicked off the show. And then, as the lights dimmed and the spooky music played, they didn’t send anyone home!

As Jonathan points out, shenanigans like these break faith with the audience. At the end of that episode, probably every American Idol fan flicked off their TV and said, “That sucked.” Every time you break faith with your audience, a portion of that audience will bid you farewell. That’s what probably happened to Idol.

AND THAT’S WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN with the Republican Party on the illegal immigration issue. I’ve been pretty candid with all of you – immigration isn’t an issue that really blows my hair back. Nevertheless, I consider securing the border a national security imperative. What’s more, the fact that we have 20 million illegal immigrants in this country is a national disgrace. While different people running the gamut from Tom Tancredo to John McCain can have good-faith disputes on what to do with those 20 million, common sense dictates that we shouldn’t allow another 20 million in while we’re discussing how to handle the current batch.

The Republican Party has to know that this is a huge issue not only for its active base but also for its more casual members. What’s more, the issue has enormous potential for the great silent apolitical majority that thinks border security is a matter of common sense, not politics.

You’d have thought the Republican Party would have learned the lesson in 2006 that when you break faith with your fans, some of them will write you off. I guess not.

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