Free Republic

Now with a commanding lead in the lead off Caucus, and big lead in New Hampshire, Romney has extended his lead while Huckabee is starting to lose steam. It would appear as if voters were beginning to look at his record and not like what they see. Romney now has 29% of Likely Caucus voters followed by Huckabee trailing Romney by thirteen percentage points, who now has 16%. In a virtual tie for second is Rudy Giuliani at 15% and Fred Thompson at 14%. Further back are John McCain (6%), Ron Paul (4%), Tom Tancredo (4%), and Duncan Hunter (2%)....

Fred Thompson and his spinners contend that the overwhelmingly critical reception he has garnered in the media is limited to inside the Beltway “liberal media” which do not appreciate his charms and folksy appeal. The New York Times coverage this week of his visit to Iowa was typical: “Iowans saw a subdued, laconic candidate who spoke in a soft monotone, threw few elbows and displayed little drive to distinguish himself from his opponents.” There are two problems with the Thompson explanation: 1) conservative pundits have been equally harsh and 2) local media has been even worse... ________________________________ ...Out in the...