Posted on 07/28/2007 9:00:10 AM PDT by pissant
Much chatter among Republicans within the Beltway that Fred Thompson, who was the Great White Hope a couple of months back, might be fading in the 2008 stakes even before his presidential bid has officially begun.
Having intimated he would announce around July the Fourth, it seems he'd not now going to commit until September. That's leaving a summer vacuum for the press to pick apart his lobbying and legal careers - and for stories to circulate about discord within his campaign and his wife being controlling.
The problems are stacking up:
Resignations
Slow fundraising
Sniping against his wife
Questions about his pro-Life credentials
I think the odds against the Law & Order star and former Tennessee senator securing the nomination are now lengthening. A couple of months back, he had momentum and buzz that he could not maintain without taking the next step. So why did he blink?
I'm told that the feeling within the campaign was that they needed to hit the ground running form Day One and they just weren't ready for prime time. This included the candidate himself - apparently, there was a concern he wasn't in command of enough policy detail (he's now spending a lot of time with briefing papers).
While it was sensible to get all the ducks in a row - early mistakes in a candidacy can doom it - it seems Thompson was unprepared for quite how much excitement his initial toe-dipping would create and he was therefore not in a position to capitalise on it fully.
It also appears that his campaign team is not either as unified or as competent as it might be. While there are impressive individuals, most have not worked together before and most to not known the soon-to-be-candidate well.
The campaign's press response to the pro-abortion lobbying story was inept.
Think back to George W. Bush's 2000 campaign - he had people like Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and Don Evans working for him. They had been with him for donkey's years and knew him inside out. That counts for a lot once a campaign heats up.
Thompson has no equivalent. The main power behind him is his wife Jeri - a respected and hard-working political operative but a big-campaign novice. There's already a lot of sniping against her. Is it sexism? Jealously? Who knows - but Thompson needs to stop it now.
The bottom line is that Thompson will succeed or fail based on how good he is when he gets into the race properly. Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic puts the flap in context here. Check out the video in Marc's blog - it gives a sense of Thompson's reassuring style, his greatest asset.
There are some positive signs - such as a potential Newt Gingrich endorsement that prompted this wonderful lede from Jonathan Martin of Politico: "Newt Gingrich's long, slow striptease over whether he will seek the presidency in 2008 looks like it might come to an unexpected conclusion: a date with Fred Thompson."
But the time window for Thompson will be so narrow he cannot afford any mistakes. And how many campaigns make no mistakes?
Ignorant
He does nail the bottom line:
‘The bottom line is that Thompson will succeed or fail based on how good he is when he gets into the race properly’.
Nah... limey, leftist bullsh•t.
Of course we all know Fred is your second choice, which is why you scour the sewers looking for every negative piece you can post against Fred.
Pissant: which is worse that you can find some rag to quote bad mouting Fred or You can’t find anything about Duncan.
Well that’s a scoop!!Which candidate won’t.
Fred’s done well, but the wheels are coming off now.
Lots on Hunter. Stay tuned.
Never mind! You’ve posted it before.
LOL, hopelessly wishful thinking. But supporting Hunter, what else do you have?
I can tell by how loud the squawks are here from die hard Fredheads that all is not well. In fact, we just flipped another dozen or so to Hunter.
It’s like flipping burnt pancakes.
Yea! I noticed you’ve flipped him right up 1.5%, Oh wait that’s where he’s been all year. Never Mind!!!!
Then you have no worries.
Piece of slim? LOL
See post 11.
I have nothing against Duncan hunter so I wouldn’t call it worry. I do know for sure that he is close to his zenith as we speak and all your wishful thinking is not going to change it, neither is your constant ragging on Fred Thompson. The fact is that bringing down Thompson does nothing for Duncan.
Fortunately, I’m not just wishful thinking. I’ve sent him $$, I volunteered to help for his campaign in my state, and I’ve flipped so many fredheads now, I’m losing track.
Have some more kool-aid pissant!
What exactly is that suppose to mean.
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