Why are they surprised? Are they absolute idiots, or just blinded by ideology? Even a person as detached from the media as myself can't miss the fact that Dick Cheney is adorable!
It is because the media is blinded by ideology. They have probably never met a "fascist" or a "nazi" but many of them label conservatives as such. They don't realize that many conservatives are nicer and more tolerants of other people and their viewpoints than liberals are.