PrintNovember 25, 2007
Thompson Unloads on Fox News for 'Bias'
Former Tennessee Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been accused of lacking fire to run for the presidency.
Seeking to alter that image, Thompson fired away at Chris Wallace of Fox News this morning, accusing the network of being biased against his campaign:
Seeking to alter that image, Thompson fired away at Chris Wallace of Fox News this morning, accusing the network of being biased against his campaign:
Thompson said, "This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth." He noted that other conservatives have praised his bid for the GOP nomination and took issue with a Fox promo that focused on polling in New Hampshire, where Thompson is registering in the single digits.Thompson has a point. While his campaign has been universally criticized for gaffes and missteps early on, it is equally clear Thompson has righted the ship in recent weeks and is starting to generate some momentum.
He said he is running second in national polls and has been leading or tied for the lead in South Carolina for "a long, long time." Thompson, in a firm, but measured tone, scolded Wallace: "...for you to highlight nothing but the negatives in terms of the polls and then put on your own guys who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it, kind of skew things a little bit. There's a lot of other opinion out there."
His policy papers on social security and immigration have been widely praised on the right as being well rounded, thoughtful, and meaty. His tone on the stump has changed as well as he as begun to criticize both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for what he calls their "fake" conservatism.
The media, including Fox, have focused largely on the inside the beltway criticism of the campaign and the candidate himself while ignoring the fact that despite the bad start he is still polling in second place nationally among Republicans.
At the very least, this criticism of Fox shows Thompson to have some fire in the belly - something the media has criticized him for lacking. It also shows an independent streak that not too many candidates have demonstrated.
