Thompson Accuses FOX News of Bias Against His Campaign

I tuned in to Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to see my man Fred and the interview he did with Wallace. Fred was really showing some fire, and a bit of anger, including some directed towards FOX News themselves. Here is a good recap of the exchange between Thompson and Wallace, courtesy of The Hill.

In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace pressed Thompson on how some conservatives have lambasted Thompson's campaign and showed clips of Fox conservative commentators Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes criticizing the former senator.

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.

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."

Krauthammer and Barnes regularly appear on Fox. Krauthammer is a syndicated columnist and Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.

Wallace denied to Thompson that "Fox has been going after you" and asked, "Do you know anybody who thinks you've run a great campaign, sir?"

Thompson responded, "It's not for me to come here and try to convince you that somebody else thinks I've run a great campaign." He added that National Review magazine has praised him for issuing detailed policy proposals on Social Security and immigration.

Following the sharp exchange, a smiling Wallace said, "I'm glad I asked the question because I got a heck of an answer."

Yes he did, and I began to think if Fred was overstating any kind of bias against him...until I began to think about how many negative spots about Thompson have been put on the air at FOX. In fact, John McCain was drawing more favorable coverage from FOX when he was polling at his lowest numbers, and that was when Fred was leading Rudy in the national polls.

Fred has actually pulled ahead of Rudy Giuliani in Iowa in recent polls, and trails Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee there, which places him in a very coveted spot for 3rd place. While New Hampshire has been a struggling point for Fred's campaign, word on the ground is that polls are starting to turn up better numbers for Fred due to his recent swing through the state and words for Rudy while campaigning there.

He is also tied for the lead in South Carolina, another early primary state, according to Rasmussen Reports and leads in that state in other polls.

Also, on a national level, Fred is polling second to Rudy Giuliani for the GOP nomination...so why the negative coverage?

Let's not count Fred out!