It’s been an extremely profitable year for America’s premier shock jock. He penned a joke novel which sold handsomely, started a joke university, led a couple of rallies, carried on airing his joke conspiracy theories. You could say that his success was down to diabolical good fortune, that he’s only dancing to the tune of Fox News’ corporate masters; that nothing sells as reliably as the lowest common denominator and he’s the lowest denominator there is. But all the same, there’s something impressive about somebody who can make endless millions from people who really believe he’s the voice of truth in a crazy, mixed-up world — only to turn round and admit he’s an entertainer who doesn’t “give a flying crap about the political process”.