The MSM has brainwashed you. You are viewing Thompson thru their prism. Everytime you see him, you think, "no fire in the belly." I guess the MSM could repeatedly mention a hairy mole on Hillary's lip, so that everytime you saw her, you would immediately focus on her lip. Marketing people do it all the time to push their product. It is called branding.
It's also called "power of suggestion." But I never thought of it that way until your brilliant post!