We Rudy people are not worried about Thompson. I would worry about him if I were a Duncan Hunter person because Thompson will steal any thunder that freepers had for Duncan Hunter. Rudy can deal with Thompson or anyone else. But having Thompson run will screw up Hunter. You don't seem to care about that at all.
Why would I care who Thompson "screws up"? Unlike apparently some people here, I am looking for the candidate that can best articulate a solid set of conservative principles, not trying to push some candidate on the world to feed my own ego.
Hunter is his own man. If he can't get anybody to notice him with Thompson in the room, he doesn't deserve to be President.
Thompson does better against Rudy on the FR member polls than either Hunter or Gingrich. That suggests he draws some of the FR Rudy supporters.
I'm guessing the Hunter supporters aren't going to abandon their man this long before the primaries. Although if he can't raise some money, he'll be a footnote by Christmas.
Maybe Thompson is the candidate who takes out Rudy so Romney can ride to victory. Or Maybe Thompson takes out Romney. Who knows at this point?
One thing is clear -- a lot of "supporters" of existing candidates, INCLUDING Rudy, seem to be praying for someone else to enter the race. Gingrich polls remarkably well for a non-candidate who has no chance of winning, and Thompson could well be the front-runner without even entering the race at all.
That tells me that there's room for a candidate, even a conservative candidate, who can stand up, show some real leadership, get recognized as being out in front on something and get the american people on his side. We don't need a "hero", or a liberal. We simply need a candidate who can connect with the people and convince them that the conservative values which we KNOW to be the answer for what ails our country are in fact what is needed.
If you can't sell the truth, you don't deserve to be President. The truth is that abortion is murder, that basic freedom requires that each citizen be allowed to defend themselves by owning a gun if they wish, that religion is in fact the basis for a civilized society, and that personal character is part and parcel of a mindset that respects people and demands respect in return.
A solid conservative who can articulate these truths can't possibly be wrong on the war on terror, and will by definition be a leader who can protect and defend our country.
Frankly, I can't tell if Thompson is that man or not. Hunter hasn't shown it. Gilmore might be the man, or maybe Brownback or Huckabee or even Romney. I have my serious doubts about Gingrich and Rudy, but there's a lot of time for them to prove me wrong.
Hunter is conservative. Thompson is conservative. Conservatives will be happy with either of them. Your cult-of-personality Rudy posts are getting creepy.