Posted on 11/25/2007 5:20:01 PM PST by Josh Painter
Former Tennessee Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been accused of lacking fire to run for the presidency.
Seeking to alter that image, Thompson fired away at Chris Wallace of Fox News this morning, accusing the network of being biased against his campaign:
Thompson said, "This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth." He noted that other conservatives have praised his bid for the GOP nomination and took issue with a Fox promo that focused on polling in New Hampshire, where Thompson is registering in the single digits.Thompson has a point. While his campaign has been universally criticized for gaffes and missteps early on, it is equally clear Thompson has righted the ship in recent weeks and is starting to generate some momentum.He said he is running second in national polls and has been leading or tied for the lead in South Carolina for "a long, long time." Thompson, in a firm, but measured tone, scolded Wallace: "...for you to highlight nothing but the negatives in terms of the polls and then put on your own guys who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, kind of skew things a little bit. There's a lot of other opinion out there."
His policy papers on social security and immigration have been widely praised on the right as being well rounded, thoughtful, and meaty. His tone on the stump has changed as well as he as begun to criticize both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for what he calls their "fake" conservatism.
The media, including Fox, have focused largely on the inside the beltway criticism of the campaign and the candidate himself while ignoring the fact that despite the bad start he is still polling in second place nationally among Republicans.
At the very least, this criticism of Fox shows Thompson to have some fire in the belly - something the media has criticized him for lacking. It also shows an independent streak that not too many candidates have demonstrated.
Regan rose above the media. Second is the first loser.
I can understand Fred’s frustration, but I was surprised by his animus towards FNC. Something going on there that we don’t know about.
I just watched it two hours ago, Fred really took him to the cleaners.
Fred has that quiet Southern strength that won’t allow these guys to roll over him, I noticed that he managed to say his piece with Tim Russert as well.
Fox News is really a tool for the left...
Fox news and Roger Ailes want his buddy Rudy in the WH.
That is all there is.
My opinion? F**k Fox.
Maybe something going on that YOU don't know about-Fox News being completely in the tank for Gulianni and very anti-Fred has been VERY obvious to me. I commend Fred for telling it like it is. Fox News fair and balanced is BS!
Fox News has been hammering on Fred for six months.
Enough is enough.
Go Fred go.
I don’t think it comes across as strong leadership when you whine about how a network treats you.
I remember that when the democrats complained about fox, we rightly made fun of them for being whiny crybabies who couldn’t stand up to the heat of fair criticism and had to go running off to CNN where they were loved and adored.
I suppose we won’t be allowed to repeat that now.
I read in another thread today that Rudy’s law firm, Bracewell and Giuliani, is legal counsel for FOX News. Giuliani also performed Roger Ailes’ marriage some years ago. There are all kinds of ties from FOX News to Rudy Giuliani & it shows!
I’m glad to see Fred brought this up - the vast majority of people that watch FOX aren’t aware of this bias - they just think that Fred’s campaign is “dead”, just like FOX has described it.
Nice to see Fred fight back.
“I can understand Fred’s frustration, but I was surprised by his animus towards FNC”
Fox is pro Rudy, and has been marginalizing Fred for months.
I don't know if you watched it or not, but in calling it "whining," I believe you did not.
Fred was very direct with his interviewer, and pointed out how the clips they showed (and asked him to comment on) were not representative of the nation as a whole. He gave specific examples to support his case. When the interviewer tried to change the topic, Fred would have none of it. He was like a bulldog, intent on making his point before he moved on.
If he went on CBS and complained about Fox, you might call that whining. By going on Fox and directly addressing their treatment of his campaign, he sounded mature and committed to his position. He refused to be a victim and took charge of the situation.
BTTT
I’m probably going to vote for him.
Unlike when your pathetic little opportunist of a candidate lost the NRTL endorsement to someone who is ACTUALLY pro-life, nobody whined here. Fred was asked about it and answered honestly. It’s asking a lot, but your buddy Flipping Mitt could learn at thing or two about that.
Nice try but no go. Fred has done several interviews where he has been grilled and they have attempted to trick him, Russert, Stephanopoulos, Wallace. He does not shy away from criticism at all. He does fight back against unfair criticism such as focusing on one poll and developing a campaign analysis from that, and then completely ignoring other polls which tell a different story.
Fred is right to call them out on their bias and cheap crummy so called journalism. Its not whining one bit and you know it.....its throwing the media's horsecrap back in their face where it belongs.
He's probably disgusted w/ the Weekly Standard guys shilling for their own faves, all the freakin' time.
The only thing good about that encounter was that Fred actually varied his monotone delivery.
I realize that the Fredites here are angry that their candidate isn’t doing better, and are taking it out on “the media”.
However, Fred’s been a huge disappointment to date, seemingly lost when he should be strong, which is in front of an audience or a TV camera. His strange way of getting into the race has left him working to catch up, and I’ve not seen him have more energy that an old hound dog under his front porch.
Don’t shoot the messenger...
You are right. Fox is pro Rudy and was pro amnesty.
That’s it, you’re in for it now. He’s going to post one of those 1000 word posts with 80 paragraphs that say absolutely nothing again.
I blame you for this! :p
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