Posted on 03/02/2007 7:25:52 PM PST by doug from upland
The Next Reagan?
By Bruce Walker
Fred Thompson has been consistently conservative on social policy and provided critical help in getting John Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice.
The Republican Party presidential field seems wide open. Giuliani has lost valuable campaign papers, which might compromise a promising candidacy. He also is to the left of the Republican center on many issues, but his honesty and likeability make up for much of that. McCain is nominally pretty conservative, but he is simply disliked and mistrusted by too many Republicans. Romney is handsome and smooth, but unless he runs away from the pack early, his possible flip-flops on social issues will hurt him.
There are dark horses, like Mike Huckabee of Arkansas or Frank Keating of Oklahoma – both are popular, articulate, conservative and made their careers in state government, rather than Washington. Tom Tancredo would make a wonderful president, but has little chance of winning either the nomination or the general election.
Republicans need someone like Ronald Reagan, someone everyone knows, someone everyone likes, someone who is conservative and – most importantly – someone who would hold the presidency for eight years. What qualifications would such a candidate need? He would have to be someone who is very articulate and convincing in front of the camera, someone who exudes confidence, someone who naturally appeals to women voters, someone familiar with the news media, someone who has kept very much in the public eye and yet someone who has been away from the mess in Washington for awhile.
Is there such a man? Yes, there is: Fred Thompson. He has been consistently conservative on social policy and his help in getting John Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court was critical. Thompson has a record in the Senate and he voted conservative, according to the American Conservative Union, eighty-six percent of the time.
Although a conservative senator, he is well liked in the Senate. He also knows the Senate very well, although he has not been a member of the Senate for five years. Thompson also supported John McCain in 2000 and was his national co-chair. He has managed to be friendly with McCain and yet a strong supporter of President Bush. In short, he would be a unifier for the entire Republican Party and should receive the strong support of McCain, if Thompson won the nomination.
The most intriguing aspect of a Thompson candidacy, however, would be his extensive and successful experience as a movie star, a regular on two very popular television programs (programs, pointedly, that are particularly popular with women voters), and now as the replacement for Paul Harvey, whose radio program reaches tens of millions of older Americans every single day.
There is another Republican who did a regular radio commentary, who appeared before the American people for years on a very popular television program, who before that was a successful movie star, and who had left politics for several years before running for president. Who? Ronald Reagan, of course. He spoke to the American people with a radio commentary during the years between his defeat for the 1976 nomination and his run for the 1980 nomination. He was on General Electric Theater, a highly rated show, for years before entering politics. President Reagan honed his skills as a communicator at every single level.
Fred Thompson would naturally appeal to a couple of voting groups who do not naturally gravitate to Republican candidates: women who watch Law & Order, senior citizens who listen to and trust Paul Harvey, and young voters who have seen Thompson's many action movies. Fred Thompson also is an impressive and brilliant communicator. He also exudes a confidence and a leadership which people naturally seek in a president in troubled times.
Would Thompson run? He originally intended to run for re-election in 2002, but the death of his daughter caused him to reconsider. Thompson obviously does not “need” to be president to feel fulfilled in his life, but that is the very thing which most Americans want – someone, like Ronald Reagan, who actually wants to be president in order to serve his country and not his ego. It certainly seems that Fred Thompson cares about the future of America and he is clearly energetic and active enough to make a presidential run.
Would Thompson win? Today people are identified by image not policy briefs; Fred Thompson of Law & Order fame has the permanent image as a “good guy” to America. If his opponents complained that he was “just an actor,” then Thompson could easily answer: “Yes, just like Ronald Reagan was just an actor” (and no one says today that Ronald Reagan was a bad president.) He might run and he could easily win. After that, this well liked and brilliant actor might be the next Reagan.
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Bruce Walker has been a published author in print and in electronic media since 1990. His first book, Sinisterism: Secular Religion of the Lie, by Outskirts Press, was published in January 2006.
Draft year would have been '60, well before 'Nam heated up. I don't recall draft being a semi-universal concern until Vietnam drove the numbers through the roof.
You haven't been looking too hard. Check out: DUNCAN HUNTER! I've already signed on to his campaign as a volunteer down here in South Florida. You wouldn't believe the number of folks who stop me in the parking lot of wherever to ask me about the bumpersticker....People are hungry for a real conservative.
Six points behind Duncan Hunter means we really don't need this guy in the running. We need Duncan Hunter.
Yes he was.
I think it's right time to retire the politician class of carriers when it comes to replacing the Big E. Especially if the next one in line is Bill Clinton...
LOL, the Dems would demand those episodes not air during his campaign.
I like Hunter, but I'm being a realist. Until he can raise the cash and the Big Mo', he's a fringe candidate...
I saw it, but so long ago, I don't remember either.
Just think about Hillary, after the unfortunate, but sympathy-getting demise that greets her loving husband about a year prior to the 08 election, picking up a pretty young guy (or in her case, girl). Eeeuw
People who can't relate to their generational peers are perceived as "off." That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
Huck wrote: "This essay has got to gall Duncan Hunter people."
Well, I'm a Duncan Hunter guy, but I'd support Fred Dalton Thompson in a heartbeat. Why? Because Hunter is truly a dark horse candidate with very little chance of winning the GOP nomination. The MSM will never allow Hunter to gain the name recognition he needs to be able to do so.
Plus, as good as Hunter is on the issues to conservatives, he doesn't have "star power," and he's not an outstanding public speaker.
More conservative than McCain and much more so than Rudy, Fred Thompson's got what it takes to win both the nomination and the White House.
Duncan Hunter would be a good running mate for Thompson, but Michael Steele would be even better. A Thompson-Steele ticket would drive the Democrats right up the wall.
It's being done incrementally. That's why they start banning guns like, oh, say, the .50 BMG (see: California).
I agree it's farfetched, but we Americans are not immune to history repeating itself.
The people in California are voting for these people.
So I wish, but the USS Enterprise, CVN-65 is scheduled for decommissioning in 2014-2015. Her intended replacement is the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which is the name ship for the "Ford" class. Two more are planned, CVN-79 and -80, currently unnamed, but I'll be surprised if one of them isn't named Clinton. (UGH!)
Artist's Conception, USS Gerald R. Ford
from www.worldnavy.info
Yes, I know.
There's a term for those people.
The two letter state identifier for Idaho + the number 10 in decimal representation + the letter "t".
+ the letter that your ring finger on your left hand is on.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Actually, I think Thompson might be one person FR could rally behind.
I really like him.
Oh, from your lips to God's ears, DFU! This could be what I've been praying for.I've been alternating between deep funk & panic mode for a couple of weeks because of the current field.
I am not thrilled with his immigration record, but I notice he got tougher after 2000. I would like to hear his current views.
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