You're asking too much... after all, ideology can tell you a great deal about how a person will:
Run the White House.
Staff and Run the Cabinet.
Run the Military as Commander In Chief.
Set legislative priorities and the legislative agenda.
Negotiate with Congress and persuade those on the fence.(*)
Communicate to the nation.(* and look/sound good doing it)
Staff and Run the Party.
No leadership credentials required. Just step in and start leading! I've put "*" where I think Fred is fully qualified and ready to lead.
Can't you just answer a simple question?
It's moronic to say ideological conservatives are all on the same par of intellect and management styles.
WIll you answer my questions?
Let's look at the four areas outlined by the article's author:
1. Formulate good policy (detail work)- FDT introduced 48 pieces of legislation in the Senate during his 8 years there. Most of it was aimed at cutting red tape, increasing national security against possible terrorist attacks, and providing tax relief.
Also, as a visiting Fellow at the AEI, Thompson researches national security and intelligence (on China, North Korea, and Russia) as a foundation for developing sound foriegn policy. At AEI he has authored 14 Articles and Short Publications. He is author of a major book about Watergare, “At that Point in Time.” in addition, Fred Thompson’s Papers reside in the Modern Political Archives at the University of Tennessee. The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, audio, videotapes and campaign materials that chronicle the inner workings and accomplishments during his public service.
As a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he has studied, developed and debated foriegn policy.
2. Negotiate with the other side and foreign governments - 8 years of dealing with the dems in the Senate. Thompson is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the the U.S. China Economic & Security Review Commission, positions where he strategized and negotiated with foreign governments.
3. Run a organization (whether a campaign or an administration) - Fred Thompson has run two very successful Senate campaigns in Tennessee, beating his opoponent by over 20 points each time. For over 20 years, he managed two law offices - one in D.C., and one in TN - and met payrolls for his employees.
4. Something that shows those lazy accusations are not true (i.e. some where he has put forth good effort.) - Good Effort? He put himself through college at Memphis State by working as a factory worker, shoe salesman and truck driver. In 1977 Thompson took on the case of a Tennessee Parole Board chairman fired under suspicious circumstances. His hard work helped to expose a cash-for-clemency scheme that ultimately toppled a sitting governor. His standout performance as Watergate minority counsel was based on a lot of effort - and “doing his homework.” And he didn’t get by on just his good looks when he served three times as a Special Counsel: to the Senate Committee on Intelligence, 1982, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 1980-1981, and to Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, 1980. He also put a lot of effort into his two wildly successful Senate campaigns. And his very successful shepherding of then supreme Court nominee John Roberts through the minefield of his Senate hearing involved quite a deal of effort, savvy and persuasion.
So much for those four straw men. All of this information about Thompson and more is out there on the web, where the author could have found it just as easily as I did. But in order to do that, he would have had to have been interested in finding it.