That depends on how far back you go. 2005, sure, but by the time he was running he was pretty much in tune with the tone on Fox; most of the remaining moderate Republicans were purged as part of the post-9/11 turn towards previously extreme positions. A lot of the shock came from people who didn’t follow the right-wing media that closely and hadn’t realized how normalized those positions had become.

I take it you were watching a lot of fox news back then? Or is that just what you "heard"? Because I was watching Fox news back then, and you are absolutely incorrect.

That's my recollection as well. I didn't watch FOX or anything conservative really, but the highlights that I sometimes came across were all pushing Bush and maybe a couple of other candidates here and there.