Karl Rove turned up on the Fox News airwaves on Monday for the first time since his widely reported benching from the network.

Rove appeared on "Special Report" to talk about the fiscal cliff with host Bret Baier and fellow pundit/strategist Joe Trippi. Not surprisingly, nobody mentioned the fact that, less than a week before, a Fox News spokesperson had confirmed to New York magazine that producers had to seek special permission to put Rove on the air in the wake of his infamous Election Night disputing of President Obama's victory in Ohio. (Colleague Dick Morris has also been put on a leash.)