I think you are wrong. What I see in the newspapers is positive toward Thompson, even to the point where they sometimes misrepresent his record to sound more moderate, in order to make him more appealing to the general electorate.
I realise that for a strong conservative, that would be considered “negative” since it makes some other conservatives question him. But it helps build him up as electable when the media says he’s not an “ideologue”.
Further, as the FredHeads will attest, they LOVE Fred’s position on his religion for example, so it’s hardly “negative reporting” when the media tells us Fred doesn’t regularly attend church. I mean, some evangelicals don’t like it, but most of the Fred supporters have explained that this makes Fred more likeable and believable.
And I see very little in the paper about how large blocks of people won’t vote for Fred. Instead, the most negative they get is to QUESTION why some groups aren’t supporting him.
ON the other hand, I REGULARLY read articles in the mainstream press about how Romney won’t appeal to evangelicals (even though the evangelical “spokepeople” seem to be saying the opposite), how a “Mormon” can’t win the election (have you seen a poll anywhere about whether a “Church of Christ” member can win the election? Of course not. But the media runs poll after poll asking about ROmney’s religion).
There are also regular stories about how the south won’t like him because he was Governor of Mass, how conservatives should reject him because in the past he wasn’t true to our principles, etc. etc..
I see the media selling Rudy, I USED to see them selling McCain but in my opinion, McCain has been replaced with Fred Thompson.
As a last data point — look at how people get castigated when they try to find negative news articles about Fred. Most of them the Fredheads point out are actually POSITIVE for him, not negative. It’s rare that a posted article is admitted by the FredHeads to actually be attacking him.
So, I restate my proposition: The Media is largely supporting Fred. They supported Fred before he entered, giving him plenty of coverage which drove up his numbers.
When he entered, a small but loud group of CONSERVATIVES and other republican pundits found fault with Thompson, and THOSE complaints resonated with a portion of the conservative population who was waiting for a savior. THAT’S what drove down his numbers, his seemingly lackluster run out of the gate.
THEN, the mainstream media kicked in to prop up his candidacy, and now his numbers are swinging back up. And the attacks on Romney have been stepped up.
I believe an honest search of threads on FR will show that the number of negative mainstream articles about Fred is less than the number of negative mainstream articles about Romney, Hunter, Tancredo, or even Ron Paul who we all know is being pushed by a portion of the mainstream media.
Where are all the Thompson hit pieces?
You're entitled to think what you want, but you are proving to be less than educated on the subject.
I realise that for a strong conservative, that would be considered “negative” since it makes some other conservatives question him. But it helps build him up as electable when the media says he’s not an “ideologue”.
Fred Thompson is a conservative, but he isn't an ideologue. Perhaps that's why people find to paint him that way. It's almost impossible to do so. Apparently, since you remain largely ignorant even about candidates that you support, you haven't bothered to do any research on Fred Thompson either. So, you just assumed that he was a hardline bible thumping ideologue, which to you, in your 'I like the NE liberal who pretends to be the best conservative' mentality, means that he isn't 'electable'. Well, the flaw here is in your thinking, not in Fred Thompson, or even in ideologues.
Further, as the FredHeads will attest, they LOVE Fred’s position on his religion for example, so it’s hardly “negative reporting” when the media tells us Fred doesn’t regularly attend church. I mean, some evangelicals don’t like it, but most of the Fred supporters have explained that this makes Fred more likeable and believable.
The 'FredHeads' this and the 'FredHeads' that. Aren't you capable of discerning what is going on yourself? The press reporting that Fred doesn't go to church regularly IS an attempt to stop him from getting evangelical support. It's a stupid and ignorant method of doing so, but a method nonetheless.
In this respect, many of us do find it refreshing that he doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve. Many squishy moderates were turned off by Bush's use of religion on the stump, because they found it phony. Fred, should appeal to evangelicals because he's on their side, while succeeding in not turning off the moderates by thumping bibles.
And I see very little in the paper about how large blocks of people won’t vote for Fred. Instead, the most negative they get is to QUESTION why some groups aren’t supporting him.
Yeah, nothing negative about questioning why groups that are largely supporting Fred are not supporting Fred. Maybe you should take your head out of that paper and breath some air. Maybe, while you're at it, you should read some online news, rather than your local paper.
I'm not going to even bother quoting and responding to the rest of your silliness.
Suffice it to say that if you want to see some hitpieces, open your friggin eyes and read the articles here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=fredthompson
There are new ones every day. You can then read the comments and go back to cussing the 'FredHeads' again, because they simply refuse to back your stealth liberal, slimy, gay activist judge appointing, medicine socializing, state funder of abortions, candidate.