I’m sorry, they can try and blame it on the Primary, but it’s completely the media’s fault for focusing on the horse race not the substance. Ten bucks says the pundits will blame the “tone of discourse” or some other blather, not themselves.

Republicans often protest their media coverage, but a new study says the press has been tougher this year on President Obama.

In fact, the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism reports: “Of all the presidential candidates studied in this report, only one figure did not have a single week in 2012 when positive coverage exceeded negative coverage — the incumbent, Democrat Barack Obama.”

One reason is the the recent Republican primaries.

“In the case of President Obama, the public has been exposed to a mostly negative portrayal,” said the part of the study analyzing the campaign. “That, in substantial part, is a function of the fact that for many months he has been the target of multiple Republican candidates attacking his record and his competence as they sought to take his job.”

The study — which examined 52 newspaper, television, radio, and Web news outlets — also says the media has treated Obama more like a presidential candidate than actually president.

“Since November, nearly two-thirds (63%) of the coverage about Obama were framed around political strategy and momentum,” it says. “In contrast, 21% primarily connected the president with foreign or domestic policy issues, such as Iran or the renewed debate over health care.”