January 23, 2008
Fred’s Aftermath Part II: Politico Media
The Thompson supporters have had a lot of problems with the media and the way they portrayed Fred Thompson over the course of his campaign. Funnily, the Jackson Sun picked up on one thing the media distorted to hurt Thompson’s candidacy. For the 4th quarter, Thompson raised between 10-12 million more dollars.
However, one of the biggest “enemies” of the Thompson camp was Politico. They regularly distorted rumors and got their story wrong on more than one occasion. They were the ones who published a July entry date for Thompson before he commited to any date to announce his candidacy. They were the ones who published the “Lazy as Charged” article about Thompson’s visit to a Fire department that the chief then rebuked. They were the ones who pushed the rumor that Fred would drop out on the day of the Iowa Caucus, likely hurting his get out the vote efforts. It goes on and on…
Here is a short excerpt from an article published the day after the Iowa Caucus on the mood at Fred Thompson’s rally the previous evening, written by Ben Adler for Politico:
Resignation greets Thompson’s third place
By: Ben Adler
January 5, 2008 06:32 PM ESTDES MOINES, Iowa – Nothing makes for a lackluster afterparty like a tie for third place. And that’s where Fred Thompson finished in Thursday’s caucus.
The former Tennessee senator won 13 percent support, too close to Arizona Sen. John McCain to call third place in the Republican race.
The crowd of about 100 Thompson supporters watching the Iowa returns in a downtown Des Moines hotel ballroom milled about, chatting amiably and noshing on the free food as if they were at a cocktail party.
They make it sound really dead, which is just what they apparently wanted everyone who was not there to think.
“In fact, considering the small, low-energy crowds like this one that have greeted Thompson’s Iowa bus tour recently, it seems remarkable that he finished as well as he did.”
Small, low energy crowds, Mr. Adler?
“But the chants of “Fred, Fred, Fred” seemed forced. Supporters cheered weakly during Iowa Rep. Steve King’s long introduction of the candidate.”
Forced chants? Really?
Luckily, the rally was caught on video for the world to see:
Michael Van der Galien noted at the time that Thompson really was getting a raw deal from the media. I’ll let you be the judge.
http://race42008.com/2008/01/23/freds-aftermath-part-ii-politico-media/trackback/
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
let it go dude. its over. he lost. move on.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Tommy,
Personally I think Politico has a terrible reputation (at least in my book.) They deliberately misquoted James Bopp in January of 07, and frankly all in all really try to paint things over and over. The thing about politico is, what they lack in authenticity and honesty, they make up for in corporate backing.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I’m not at all fond of Politico, as I perceive Martin to be biased. It’s not surprising to me that they may have been unfair to another candidate as well.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Fred’s main problem is that he’s an establishment-type candidate who relies mostly on national organization. But in 2008, the establishment is very much on the sidelines. If we learn anything from this year’s race, its that you either have to have strong establishment support, positive media coverage, or lots of money, coupled with a coherent message to win. Fred had neither, and I don’t mean to be critical, because Romney hasn’t exactly struck the right message with voters, at least until Michigan, where he found his voice. Fred Thompson had his voice from the beginning. It just wasn’t loud enough or convincing enough to attract support in a crowded field.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:23 pm
If only Bush had selected Fred as his VP, things would be a lot different. We probably wouldn’t be in Iraq now, and Fred would be riding high as the de facto nominee. Fred would have brought Bush gravitas, as well, without the partisan attacks Cheney receives.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 pm
tommy, the laziness charge is kind of legitimate. Matthew Miller posted in December the number of events Fred had in nov-dec as well as once he entered the race. Its no surprise that Mitt and McCain had the most events throughout the year, and they will be the last 2 standing. Mitt worked his butt off to get where he is. Fred was conservative and likeable enough that he could have been Iowa’s darling instead of Huck. Huck filled a void that Thompson should have. He is a good guy, as you are too, but he didnt work hard enough to win. At least until mid December when he decided to make Iowa his last stand.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Thanks Tommy for your continued focus on all things Fred. I trust that he has succeeded in shifting the campaign back a bit toward conservative principles.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
The media are slaves to narrative. Once the narrative is set, a candidate can hardly change it unless he’s very good or very lucky. That’s one of my worries about Mitt Romney, actually.
I mean, how exactly is a reporter supposed to decide if cheers are forced or not? Do reporters usually carry devices to measure decibels?
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
husky, do you think he was lazy or more likely, out of practice? Fred had been out of politics for a long time, was likely unfamiliar with the issues, and could only run on vague generalities for months until he was caught up to speed. Hence, the “we have to do more of the things that work and less of the things that don’t work” stump speech.
Can someone tell me why Fred left the Senate? Had he stayed, he might have made an attractive VP choice for Bush, especially with the Tennesseean Gore running against him.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
tommy, let me be a grandma for a minute. Sometimes the dragon wins. The truth is the dragon will win for all of us here except for one team.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Politico treated Fred like crap-o-la.
He deserved better . . . but it’s great evidence that he’s a conservative. The MSM wants to torpedo the most conservative of the viable candidates (Fred and Mitt) and pump up the least conservative (McCain and Huck)—Rudy has been in the middle here, getting lots of positive press and “passes” on a lot of his issues, but he got killed on that “Mistress-gate” issue by shoddy reporting that, despite him being vindicated on the charges, reminded everyone that he was in fact using tax-payer money to protect and shuttle his mistress around while he was still married. That killed him.
The contrast to McCain and Romney’s media coverage is so blatant that anyone not admitting a bias is not being honest with themselved.
Exhibit A: http://iowansforromney.blogspot.com/2008/01/contrast-associated-press-has-blatant.html
Now that Fred’s out, he’ll be the focus of all the MSM bias/attacks. (And I’m only paranoid because everyone’s against me)
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Is this a joke? The guy barely campaigned. There is no analysis…he just didn’t do much of anything.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
You Fredheads have my profound sympathies. The only candidate the media despises more then Fred is Romney. And sometimes they ran neck and neck.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I know a lot of Fredheads were excited about Fred being a new Reagan, mainly because he was an actor and a recognizable figure. But Reagan had something Fred didn’t have. Reagan was able to connect to the American people despite a hostile press. “I paid for this microphone!”. Reagan didn’t have a press that also consisted of conservative talk radio, right-wing bloggers, and a host of new media to counterbalance the left-wing spin. Reagan had also been governing California and speaking directly to the California people for many years. One of the reasons Romney isn’t connecting as well as some think he should is that he hasn’t been governor long enough and hasn’t completely refined the political skills that a Huckabee or a McCain have learned.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
asparagus,
I’d agree there. I think both Romney and Fred struggle to get around the intense dislike the press corps has for them. Fred’s responses were dismissive, and he showed disdain for the media repeatedly. That endeared him to many conservatives, including me. But, ultimately, this is not enough to break past the media filter. You either have to engage the press and repeatedly call them out on their spin, or you have to persuasively and articulately go around them, and speak directly to the American people. Fred tried both at various times, but organizational troubles seemed to stop him from developing a general strategy or theme. In the end, most of the time, Fred was simply ignoring the media; and that’s not a winning strategy.
Romney in contrast, seems to react to astounding hostility with a continually cheerful demeanor, with a few exceptions. When asked on Leno about Glen Johnson’s outrageous bias in Florida a few weeks ago, he said something like “the media has a tough job, and I respect them for their efforts. If sometimes things get a little heated, it’s probably something you can’t blame them for”. It was typical Romney; genial and gentlemanly. If you do this often enough, with stunning sincerity and consistency, then you make your detractors look like huge jerks. So it’s a plausible strategy. But, when you allow the media to cast you as deceiving panderer, who’s not sincere about anything, then you can hardly expect your gentlemanly aura to do it’s job. I can’t say I know how these candidates break past this barrier. It’s too late for Fred, but Romney still has a shot. And he needs to figure something out.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
fred didnt want to do a hand show at the debate, and i thought that was cool. but running for president is basically one big hand show. if you dont want to do the BS that it takes to get it, you probably won’t win. so its not surprising fred dropped out, though he can do so with his head held high.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Agreed. Romney should get mad. Maybe, in the grand tradition of Mormon candidates for President, order a printing press destroyed. Rudy, on the other hand, needs to cry.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Tommy,
For the 4th quarter, Thompson raised between 10-12 million more dollars.
Seriously?? That’s what…double what McCain raised? You’d never have known it from the coverage (I didn’t!)
January 24th, 2008 at 12:52 am
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/who_said_freddys_dead.html
Fred’s path to the nomination. I’ve always said he might end up doing this.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Move on.
No offence but this post is pathetic.
You are normally better than that.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
[...] Tommy Oliver seems to be making one and adds internet politics portal Politico to the list. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
January 24th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Over at the Shelby County TN Blue Collar Republicans, we did our part to help defeate Neo-Con Fred.
http://bluecollarrepublican.com/blog/?s=definitive+fred+thompson
January 24th, 2008 at 9:24 am
asparagus
Your an idiot
January 24th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Fredheads are going through a grieving process, and that’s OK. I’m sure I’d feel the same way if Romney gave up and dropped out.