Yes many people on FR are manipulated by the mainstream (liberal) media.
However, I'm not following your logic. Are you saying that the liberal media manipulated the facts and Tom McClintock wasn't the top vote getter in California, in 2002? Or, are you saying that the mainstream (liberal) media keeps overlooking the top vote getter in California, in 2002? That would be Tom McClintock, of course.
Perhaps you mean something else.
My comments were not directed towards the 2002 McClintock race. That was a sideshow from the media point of view. My comments were directed primarily at the way the media handles the highest-profile office elections on a given ballot, such as governor.
Therefore extrapolating my view in the way you suggest is not what I intended to convey.
However, in regards to 2002, I will give you my view. When [high-profile office candidate] Simon took a dive in 2002, he dragged the other Republicans on the ballot down with him, including McClintock. Voters tend to vote along party lines on a single ballot. The media aids and abets this, of course; they focus their attention on the top couple of highest-profile office candidates and give all the other candidates short shrift.