In FOX News’ attempt to cover all who THEY feel are potential 2012 candidates for President, they decided to produce a segment on Mitt Romney, who opted out of the interview and IMHO clearly did not want to be included in the series. Perhaps FOX felt that 11 For ’12 didn’t roll off the lips quite as well as the original? So they decided to go ahead with the segment anyway.
Rather than highlight Romney’s achievements in a positive light, FOX chose to play up what they felt were his negatives, including comparing the Massachusetts Health Care Bill to Obamacare.
Now, I’m not naive. I fully expected a mention of the MA Health Care Bill. Instead, the majority of the piece seemed to center around this issue with only a few quick blurbs about his successful business background at Bain, Bain Capital, and the saving of the Olympics.
After viewing the video I was left with a sense that Romneycare is all Mitt Romney accomplished and the rest according to FOX, is insignificant. However, I know better and I know that’s not the case. In light of the Romney segment, I believe he made the correct choice by not ACTIVELY partaking in the piece. I don’t believe FOX would have done it any differently.
With FOX having 4 horses (Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, and Santorum) in the race for 2012, it would be to their advantage to try to take the top horse out early. I’m not saying that this is what their plan was, I’m just opening it up as a possibility. It seems that with ALL the tv exposure that Palin, Huckabee, and Gingrich are getting on FOX, they can’t seem to pass Romney in the polls and in the race to 2012.
What I’m going to ask readers of this post to do, is to view both Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin’s profiles. See if you feel that they covered Palin’s negatives with the same enthusiasm and intensity as they did Romney’s.
Mitt Romney:
Sarah Palin:
Well, were they fair and balanced?
I’ve cheered Fox News for some time but am totally disappointed…perhaps I will not be a loyal fan anymore.
Sarah Palin is a neat lady but not for president of these United States…no thank you.
I felt the same strange aspect of Romney’s treatment as you Bosman. Its as if the piece on Fox dedicated to their own TV personalities was meant to showcase them. But Romney’s piece was more of an expose. Its as if they didn’t even examine his resume but took their talking points from the DNC.
Also, a lot of distortion like this was clearly meant to make Massachusetts insurance reform look like it was socialized medicine like Obamacare. It was a disservice to those who turn to Fox News for the truth.
Not as fair as I would have liked, but Mitt is resilient and will rise above the smears… Go Mitt!
People regard Mitt highly, the way they did in 07 and 08–probably moreso now. I think it plays to his strengths that all these other people get attention now, so people won’t get tired of Mitt going into ’12. Remember: ’08 was supposed to be Giuliani-Clinton. Look what we ended up with.
I am also disappointed in this piece by Fox. Not exactly some of their best work. Gov. Romney has worked very hard to get where he is now, and Fox let him down.
They made it sound like he was for abortion and not a true Conservative. Also coverage of his work on healthcare was not fair.
I don’t honestly believe that Palin nor Huckabee have the all around education, background experience, and class that this great man has. I hope Fox will give him much more favorable coverage once all the real action starts next year.
I didn’t think that the video overplayed the health care bill at all. I got from the video that Mr. Romney is a strong candidate because of his executive experience. He’ll lose a few votes because he hasn’t been as strongly pro-life as some people would want, but most pro-life voters will come around for the general election. Only a few internet blowhards will make a big deal of the health care bill or abortion. If he can connect with voters as a person, he’ll be very strong.
i agree with the first 6 comments……i am very dissappointed in fox news right now and have turned off the channel on my DVR. not going to give ratings to a net work that can not be fair and balanced among it’s own conservative candidates. if their ratings drop maybe they would get the hint! very very dissappointed:( go mitt !!!!you’re the only strong candidate for the issues that face america right now! if we don’t get our economy back on track and people to work, all the ignorant conservatives that want to tear the party apart won’t have an america as we know it to fight about all the social isues!!!!
ok…so where did the palin video go?
I don’t understand why you guys are saying it isn’t fair.. They have 6 minutes on Mitt Romney and they are talking about how people are unsure of his healthcare bill; Mostly from democrats. They talked other various things on his resume as well. If Sarah Palin had passed a health care bill, guess what they’d be talking about with her as well? You’re being over-sensitive, jumping to conclusions; Maybe, because he’s your choice? All I’m saying is calm down, take a deep breathe, and understand that Romney isn’t the only popular candidate.
Great write up’s Bosman! Agreed, Fox is promoting their own horses, but they fear of Romney’s resume and achievements. Americans will pick romney and fox ended up loser…., don’t understimate the independents we will go for romney!!!
I agree, very disappointed in Fox News. I have been watching fox news faithfully..and this is not only disappointing but very bias. Huckabee? really? Mitt Romney has the financial know how, is a strong leader and has what it takes to be the President of the United States. I felt I was watching the liberal media again.. You showed this exactly how the liberal media does..swaying it to your leanings. Hmm.. will be watching closely to see how often this happens in the future.
Fox new is owned by News Corporation.
News Corporation is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Certainly Mr. Murdoch is informed on the Fox policy
how to display the GOP frontrunner.
Conclusion: Mr. Murdoch is not a fan off Mitt Romney.
Right?
Interesting “silent” promotion from Fox of Palin. Not sure why Baier didn’t try to bolster Romney. Fox trying to increase conservative women viewership demographic? Baier disgruntled that Romney refused the interview? There is an apparent yet hidden background story. Despite the less-than-stellar piece on Romney that rehashed liberal talking points, Romney still stands head and shoulders above the rest. GOP would be fortunate to have Romney as the Republican nominee in 2012.
Mitt all the way – he is the only one that has it ALL and can lead us out of this nightmare of the current administration!! Economics is he forte’. Run, Sarah, Run…IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! :)))) (she’s been very polarizing, downright ugly at times, since leaving the VP nominanee post)
I, too, think FOX did not do any justice to Romney’s bid… they better get their act together because Romney is electable – Palin is NOT!
I love and I defend Sarah Palin, but not as a candidate for the presidency. Unfortunately, I missed the FOX program on potential conservative candidates. I will say that the healthcare bill is a very hot and unpopular topic and I wouldn’t want my name associated with it, even on a state level.
I’m not certain at this point who I support, but the candidate had better be strong, upright & honest, which is the exact opposite of our current president. McCain was not a strong enough opponent in the last election. I wasn’t overly happy with him, but would never vote for Obama. I was actually voting for Sarah when I cast my vote for McCain.
Fox has never been supportive of Mitt. I stopped trusting Fox in 2008. I do not think Fox will be fair to Mitt in the coming months. It will require his supporters to fight hard to get Mitt message out there.
Fox News wants this: Palin (the potential first woman president) vs. Obama (the first black president). They will stop at NOTHING to get this. Fox News screwed Mitt over in the primary last time and they’ll do it again. Cable news is not about fairness, it is about ratings.
@Justin
Justin,
Did you hear them mention that Romney endorsed twice as many mid-term candidates as the other big 3 combined?
Did you hear them mention that he endorsed Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, Nikki Haley, Terry Branstad, and Pat Toomey way before the others. When they were unknowns and/or long shots?
Did you hear them DWELLING on Palin QUITTING her job? When many feel like Romneycare for Romney, this is a major hurdle for her?
Did you hear them talking about the scandals that riddled her administration?
Did you hear them talk about how MANY feel she is the reason we didn’t gain the Senate?
After watching “Inside Job” I think that of all the candidates Romney has the best credentials to avert a financial disaster. He would understand the inside workings better than anybody. I think he would have the moxie to do what needed to be done which might possibly get criticism from all sides. Hopefully he would choose economic advisors and a Treasury secretary who would not be in the “inside” and would be smart and strong enough to do what was necessary.
I thought Fox would be showing as the streanghts and weaknesses, resumes, accomplishments of each potential candidates so the audience see the differences in each. Mitt would have a long, long list of accomplishments and a stellar resume, not including his character, values he possess, plus a good family….I could go on and on and on. Nobody can compare his unique experiences. He is ready and able to led. I am very disappointed with Fox.
I have to agree with Bill. Romneycare is a valid question, and not everyone has heard the answer yet. In this piece, though, they showed Mitt’s answer in his own words… twice.
Naturally, it feels like a slightly tougher piece, partly because Mitt wasn’t there in person. But, knowing Brett Baier, there was not likely any intended bias. The frontrunner takes the most fire, but in this case, that’s ok.
Given that Mitt chose not to be interviewed by Baier, the 2 pieces were reasonably balanced. Mitt has plenty of time to get his message out personally. He has shown his wisdom by not jumping in on this one and choosing to fly below the radar.
What was telling in Sarahs final comments is that she would jump in where she felt it was the right thing to do; while it is courageous, to date her “gut” instincts have not proven to be wise. Her support of O’donnell and Angle have shown that. Maybe she will develop some wisdom in the next 12 months, however I doubt it.
In the meantime, the extremely conservative right and the “true believers” in the Tea Party will need to consider a nominee who can win in a general election. Someone who has the wisdom, experience and temperance like Mitt romney.
I’m sure Baier was ticked, since this comes across as a snub by Romney.
Hopefully Mitt has learned from his past (and his Dad’s too) experience where they allowed the opposition to define them, leading to their defeat. I hope Romney hasn’t swung too far in the other direction in terms of access.
As much as I appreciate an alternate view to the generally liberal mainstream media, I don’t expect Fox to be “Fair and Balanced” when one of their own (Huckabee) plans to run for the GOP nomination.
Dick Morris and FOX in general is only as fair as they are balanced. As long as they are making the bucks they aren’t going to worry about minor deviations from the staight and narrow. They have bought into the the “TAX Cuts” shell game, and that’s where they need criticism now. The Governor does well to choose the hills to climb, there is still a mountain ahead. Does He check in here now and then?
It speaks to how much Baier wants him to run since he found enough footage to include him without interviewing him. If you look at Bill O’Reilly’s talking points for November 17 then you will see that FOX is a Romney supporter. Time will tell, there are some major hurdles, we just need everyone to speak the truth and not spew false information like last time (ahem, Huckabee)
MITT HAS THE MOST TO OFFER OF ALL THE POTENTIAL CANDIDATES . . INTELLIGENCE, WIT, INTEGRITY, MORALITY, EXPERIENCE, DIGNITY, GOOD HEALTH, HUMILITY, AND HE HAS THAT SOMETHING THAT JUST MAKES YOU LIKE HIM!! HE WANTS TO SERVE HIS COUNTRY. . . NOT HIMSELF! (WOULDN’T THAT BE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR?) . I AGREE WITH ALLYFELL ABOUT FOX AND BEDFELLOW, HUCKABEE! MITT DOESN’T NEED TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND FOX REALLY HAD NOTHING TO OFFER HIM WITH THIS AIRING AND AT THIS STAGE OF THE GAME. . SO HATS OFF TO A GOOD DECISION AND TO A MAN WORTH SUPPORTING!
@Justin
Why they did not state the fact that she quit on her people. When the pressure came, she has to resign and instead of enduring she gave up on Alaska. Will she do the same thing when she comes to Washington? Or she will quit and stat working to become the General Secretary the United Nations…
I am so glad I was not the only one who was kind of taken back by the Romney piece. I was looking forward to it and have always admired Brett Bair but I was surprised at the spitefullness that I felt from him. I was dissappointed and lost some respect for Brett. I would hate to see Fox news lose their fair and balanced perspective because of their biased toward their collegues Palin and Huckabee.