Fred! swings, and whiffs
When it comes to the presidential election next year a lot of people were hoping to see Fred Thompson ride in, and take the race away from those that had already situated themselves in the trenches. There was a lot of hype and hope, and given his performance to date, there's also quite a bit of disappointment. But that hasn't stopped him from campaigning, and today he took a swipe at FOX News for supposedly dogging him once he did enter the race:
Fred Thompson attacked Fox News on Sunday for what he called a "constant mantra" that his floundering campaign for president is troubled, and he accused the network of skewing things against him.
Thompson certainly isn't the first politician to make that accusation, but he's the first high-profile Republican to do so.The assertion was arresting because Fox News was frequently Thompson's forum of choice when he was contemplating a campaign and as he tried to find his footing after he announced.
Where did Thompson do it? On "Fox News Sunday," in a heated exchange with host Chris Wallace, who played clips of Fox commentators saying his campaign had been a disappointment.
"It's a lot of the same kind of stuff that I heard when I first ran for office, when I was 20 points down. And fortunately, I wound up 20 points ahead on election night," Thompson said.
"This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth. And I saw the promo ... for this show, and it was kind of featuring the New Hampshire poll. Let's put things in context a little bit, to start with."
Thompson was referring to a CNN/WMUR poll that showed his support in the Granite State had collapsed to 4 percent, putting him in sixth place among the Republican presidential hopefuls.
Referring to Fox commentators, Thompson said: "From Day One, they said I got in too late, I couldn't do it ... wouldn't raise enough money, and that sort of thing. And that's their opinion. They're entitled to their opinion. But that doesn't seem to be shared by the cross section of American people. If you look at the national polls, you'll see that I'm running second and have been running second for a long time."
The latest Real Clear Politics average of national polls does have the former Tennessee senator in second place, far behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and slightly ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"They're entitled to their opinion," Thompson continued. "But for you to highlight nothing but the negative in terms of these polls, and then put on your own guys, who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, you know, kind of skews things a little bit."
Time out there, senator. First off many people -- Thompson included -- seem to think that FOX is conservative when it's not. It is, by far, a more balanced network, but people have to remember that it is still a part of the mainstream media. They jump on the media bandwagon just like everyone else. So I think his attack is unwarranted.
Furthermore, he seems to be emanating this sort of attitude that he'll-take-the-job-if-someone-wants-to-give-it-him. That's lackadaisical, and it doesn't resonate well with voters. In fact there are quite a few "Fred-Heads" on the 'Net and int he real world we've spoken with and they're not happy with this lackluster demeanor he seems to be showing the world. And yes, you can count us among those people because we penned an excellent piece about his potential dynamic, and what he might do to change the field not too long ago. (BTW, a Google search for that particular piece shows that a few of Fred's supporters picked up on it, and have cited it on a number of Fred forums.)
The point is this: We gave him a pass on his first debate because he probably wasn't as prepared as he thought for it. The second debate was better. He does keep getting better at these forums, but this "aw shucks" attitude he portrays isn't gaining him any ground. Yes, he is running second to Rudy (the two are throwing barbs back and forth at one another), but he still can't seem to gain any headway.
If Fred truly wants the nomination, then he needs to show the nation he wants it. He can't just sit back on cruise control, and expect it to drop in his lap. Governor Romney will likely take the early primary states, and Mayor Giuliani is prepared to take a big bite out of the primary states that are a go on 5 February. If Fred waits around too long, it won't be the voters at fault. It'll be his fault. This race is his to lose, and taking swipes at an MSM outlet isn't the way to go, especially when so many people are tuning into FOX for it's balanced coverage. Besides, just about every MSM pundit out there agrees that he's made some calculated mistakes. So we're not buying the "You're picking on me" line.
Publius II
Fred Thompson attacked Fox News on Sunday for what he called a "constant mantra" that his floundering campaign for president is troubled, and he accused the network of skewing things against him.
Thompson certainly isn't the first politician to make that accusation, but he's the first high-profile Republican to do so.The assertion was arresting because Fox News was frequently Thompson's forum of choice when he was contemplating a campaign and as he tried to find his footing after he announced.
Where did Thompson do it? On "Fox News Sunday," in a heated exchange with host Chris Wallace, who played clips of Fox commentators saying his campaign had been a disappointment.
"It's a lot of the same kind of stuff that I heard when I first ran for office, when I was 20 points down. And fortunately, I wound up 20 points ahead on election night," Thompson said.
"This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth. And I saw the promo ... for this show, and it was kind of featuring the New Hampshire poll. Let's put things in context a little bit, to start with."
Thompson was referring to a CNN/WMUR poll that showed his support in the Granite State had collapsed to 4 percent, putting him in sixth place among the Republican presidential hopefuls.
Referring to Fox commentators, Thompson said: "From Day One, they said I got in too late, I couldn't do it ... wouldn't raise enough money, and that sort of thing. And that's their opinion. They're entitled to their opinion. But that doesn't seem to be shared by the cross section of American people. If you look at the national polls, you'll see that I'm running second and have been running second for a long time."
The latest Real Clear Politics average of national polls does have the former Tennessee senator in second place, far behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and slightly ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"They're entitled to their opinion," Thompson continued. "But for you to highlight nothing but the negative in terms of these polls, and then put on your own guys, who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, you know, kind of skews things a little bit."
Time out there, senator. First off many people -- Thompson included -- seem to think that FOX is conservative when it's not. It is, by far, a more balanced network, but people have to remember that it is still a part of the mainstream media. They jump on the media bandwagon just like everyone else. So I think his attack is unwarranted.
Furthermore, he seems to be emanating this sort of attitude that he'll-take-the-job-if-someone-wants-to-give-it-him. That's lackadaisical, and it doesn't resonate well with voters. In fact there are quite a few "Fred-Heads" on the 'Net and int he real world we've spoken with and they're not happy with this lackluster demeanor he seems to be showing the world. And yes, you can count us among those people because we penned an excellent piece about his potential dynamic, and what he might do to change the field not too long ago. (BTW, a Google search for that particular piece shows that a few of Fred's supporters picked up on it, and have cited it on a number of Fred forums.)
The point is this: We gave him a pass on his first debate because he probably wasn't as prepared as he thought for it. The second debate was better. He does keep getting better at these forums, but this "aw shucks" attitude he portrays isn't gaining him any ground. Yes, he is running second to Rudy (the two are throwing barbs back and forth at one another), but he still can't seem to gain any headway.
If Fred truly wants the nomination, then he needs to show the nation he wants it. He can't just sit back on cruise control, and expect it to drop in his lap. Governor Romney will likely take the early primary states, and Mayor Giuliani is prepared to take a big bite out of the primary states that are a go on 5 February. If Fred waits around too long, it won't be the voters at fault. It'll be his fault. This race is his to lose, and taking swipes at an MSM outlet isn't the way to go, especially when so many people are tuning into FOX for it's balanced coverage. Besides, just about every MSM pundit out there agrees that he's made some calculated mistakes. So we're not buying the "You're picking on me" line.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:44 PM
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