Posted on 11/16/2007 1:35:55 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson brought his message of beefing up the military and securing the nation's borders to the conservative Florida Panhandle on Friday as he worked to bolster his poll numbers.
Thompson, who trails the four top Republican presidential candidates in Florida, told about 100 supporters that the average 20-year-old soldier in Iraq has a better understanding of national security than the average 20-year-veteran of Capitol Hill.
And the U.S. should not pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan with "our tail between our legs. We will regret it," said Thompson, who held a private meeting earlier with about 15-20 family members of deployed soldiers and sailors in this town that is home to Pensacola Naval Air Station and populated by military retirees.
Thompson also said Americans are not getting the good news about the progress in Iraq made since the recent troop surge.
"Car bombings are down because of the perseverance of these heroes and their families," he said.
The former Tennessee senator said he has proposed a million member ground force and has consistently called for increased military spending.
Thompson said he would also secure the nation's borders to avert terrorist threats.
"We don't need to be defensive about defending ourselves in this country," he said.
A Nov. 11 poll done on behalf of a coalition of Florida media outlets showed Thompson at 8 percent among registered voters. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had 9 percent, Arizona Sen. John McCain had 12 percent, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 19 percent and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani had 36 percent.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who introduced Thompson, said it is too early in the campaign for the poll numbers to matter.
"Giuliani is popular because of how he handled Sept. 11, but look at how popular he was on Sept. 10," Miller said. "Fred Thompson is a consistent conservative and it is important to have a consistent conservative in the White House."
Eldon Levi, who served in the Army during the Korean War, was among those gathered on the downtown pier because he said he wanted to hear Thompson's message about national security.
"I'm worried about security, I'm not concerned about abortion or some of those other issues. So far he is the only one saying anything about national security," Levi said.
Jeri and I chatted as if we were picking up our kids from Sunday school! lol Very unpretentious lady. FDT looked great, really. Better than the pics I've seen for sure.
There is raw footage of the event at www.weartv.com, if you interested.
I’m close to the Panhandle, up here in Alabama. I hope he comes my way pretty soon.
WE'RE GOING TO SEND FRED A THANKSGIVING DAY GIFT!
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