Posted on 03/27/2007 3:51:49 AM PDT by Josh Painter
USA Today and Gallup offer their latest in polling for both parties in the extended presidential primary race, and a couple of changes have raised eyebrows. First, even the rumor of a bid by Fred Thompson has dented Rudy Giuliani's momentum, while John McCain's decline in support appears to have leveled off:
"On the Republican side, former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson shook up the field with his announcement that he would consider getting into the presidential race. Thompson is familiar as the actor who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's Law and Order. Chosen by 12% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters, Thompson is third in the Republican field. He trails former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, at 31%, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, at 22%. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is at 8%."
"Thompson's support seems to come largely from voters who had supported Giuliani. In the USA TODAY poll taken March 2-4, Giuliani's standing had been 13 percentage points higher, at 44%. McCain's support had been 2 points lower then."
"What does this mean? Conservatives who have supported Giuliani for his leadership and electability -- and plenty of them have -- would desert Rudy if a credible, consistent conservative entered the race... Thompson['s]... eight years in the Senate have left a more credible sense of consistency and center-right politics than Giuliani brings to the race. And according to the Post's blog The Sleuth, Thompson has begun seriously considering a run -- and has met with GOP powerhouse advisor Ed Gillespie."
- snip -
Romney fared poorly in this poll... That has to be disappointing, especially since Hugh Hewitt's political biography and Romney's appearance at CPAC should have set the stage for a significant boost. Has Thompson's potential disrupted Romney's momentum as well? Possibly.
(Excerpt) Read more at captainsquartersblog.com ...
And Thompson is not IN the Senate today, so he wouldn't count.
To the first point, I think I said "in our lifetime" -- I assume most of us on the Freep extend back to JFK's election.
I'll grant you: Thompson is not IN the Senate today. How many President's jumped from starring in a TV show to President with no real political activity in between? Yes, I know RR was a movie actor and TV personality -- but those roles were almost 2 decades before Reagan was elected President. And in the interim, he was elected to 2 terms as Governor of the then second largest state in the Union. And the balance of his time, he was pushing conservative policies and philosophy (that he wrote himself) on the radio and on the mashed potato circuit.
I like Fred Thompson but I just don't see the compelling leadership resume. I'm afraid he's more like Warren Harding whom everyone thought "gee, he looks like he'd be a great president."
Here we go again......The greater of the two evils vs The lesser of the two evils. Give me a *cliche* break!
Is this not enough for my fellow Freepers to see the shell game FT brings to the election
The beast will eat him alive, he's slow and plodding and will not know he has lost until the election is over for days....
Bob Beckel is a die hard dem and if you think he's going to say something that might help the GOP you are truly foolish......
This comment alone should wake you folks up....
You are up against the devil and she wants to win, and she will move many things that seem different than they are to do so...
Don't be so gullable
I'm pretty much in that boat. So long as the national power-that-be at the RNC read Rudy the riot act over the 2nd Amendment, I'm fine with him. He doesn't want to be a one term President, which is what he'll be if he makes a dumb move on guns. Beyond that, his ability to steal practically the entire center from a polarizing Dem like Hillary would be utterly crippling. Most independents in America aren't really fazed by his personal life, and the conservatives that are, push comes to shove, won't abandon the country to Hillary over it. Not in large numbers, anyway.
I like FT's political views on things considerably more, but you don't get to the Oval Office on your views. Hillary and Rudy are prepared to get in the ring and go for the jugular, day in and day out, for months and years on end. You don't get to be President by being drafted. (Who was that last guy to be elected President that had to be talked into it?) You get there by drive, ambition, and raw perseverance.
Republicans also need more on the resume than a few years in the Senate. To my knowledge, Fred's never run anything larger than his Senate staff. Rudy's never been a governor, but he did manage a city larger and more complex than many states in the union. So, in the experience and drive category, Rudy wins, and in the political views and philosophy section, Fred wins. But only Rudy is accumulating money and establishment support right now. If Fred doesn't get in the race, i.e., shows no drive, he won't get any money or support either. He's going to have to want it more than Rudy does in order to catch up and beat him, and right now there's zero indication that's the case.
Spell check is your friend, but only if you already know how to spell.
I'd basically agree, although President Bush is a visibly religious man, and Giuliani is not. That clearly has an effect on some of their policies. Overall, as a practical matter, they're far more similar than they are different.
What I see in Rudy that I don't see in W is a willingness to grab his enemies by the throat and choke them to death. Call me old fashioned, but I long ago read W's "new tone" as weakness. He gets steamrollered left and right, and is inarticulate and timid when dealing with the Dems. Say what you will about Rudy, but he goes after his enemies with a branding iron, and leaves a mark.
I'm tired of watching my President thrown around like a rag doll. I want a fighter.
Yep.
Maybe he can have Geena Davis as his veep.
"Why can't we all agree to look at all candidates, point out the areas where we agree, or disagree with them, and move on."
I completely agree.
"I know many will claim that it is the Rudy supporters do the same thing, yet what I see is Rudy supporters defending their guy, while I see Thompson and Hunter supporters spending more time putting down Rudy instead of encouraging them to look at Fred."
On this one, I think that there is plenty of blame to go around.
Yup, Thompson's quite the leader. Got rolled by John Glenn and he said recently his wife is urging him to run.
That's LEADERSHIP???????? Listening to the little woman for direction?????????
Keep throwing turds up against the wall, maybe one of them will stick.
"A mature, intelligent discussion every now and then would be refreshing."
Yes it would.
"he said recently his wife is urging him to run."
Link?
LOL!
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