Posted on 06/09/2007 9:14:36 PM PDT by RonDog
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Thanks to a tip from Bush gal in LA...To: xcamelI heard Fred is going on Leno Tuesday night.
Maybe he’ll announce then!
38 posted on 06/09/2007 6:41:04 PM PDT by Bush gal in LA (''Don't tread on the FRED!'' Fred Thompson 2008).
...we now have CONFIRMATION (that he will be on the show that night) from www.NBC.com:
Tuesday, June 12, 2007Fred Thompson
You are right he doesn’t have to explain anything but If he cannot convince the voters he can win, he won’t get elected.
He was in the Senate for 8 years, two more than The Dark One. How can he convince Reagan Democrats and Independents his experience in the Senate was more relevant than hers? These are important issues. I want to vote for Fred, but I also want to win in 2008.
If Hildabeast of Barak Hussien wins, this country is going to be in mortal danger. There isn’t going to be any second revolution in this country, so there isn’t going to be the “Kevorkian” vote that some conservatives talked about in 1996, nor will there necessarily be a Reaganesque candidate to emerge in 2012 after four of The Dark One.
...He should announce on July 4th as far away from Hollywood as possible!See also. from Michael Barone, in US News:
Fred Thompson Is InAnd, from Stephen Hayes, in the Weekly Standard :
May 31, 2007 11:26 AM ET | Permanent Link
That's what Stephen Hayes is reporting in the Weekly Standard and Mike Allen in Politico.
Last night I attended an off-the-record American Spectator dinner with Thompson and his wife, Jeri; George Will and Robert Novak were also there.I'm not supposed to say what was said there, but nothing I heard inclined me to think that Hayes and Allen have gotten it wrong...
Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.
Testing the Waters-- snip --
Fred Thompson is running.
by Stephen F. Hayes
05/29/2007 10:21:00 PM
FRED THOMPSON IS RUNNING for the Republican presidential nomination. In a conference call Monday, Thompson addressed a group of more than 100 supporters and fundraisers whom the campaign has dubbed First Day Founders. He told them that he would be setting up an organization that will allow him to begin raising money and recruiting staff.
In official campaign finance parlance, the move represents a shift from "giving serious consideration" to a presidential bid, as Thompson said he would do back in March, as a non-candidate, to a "testing the waters" period where one is, in effect, a candidate-in-waiting with a campaign-in-preparation. Thompson advisers point out that the new testing-the-waters entity is not quite a campaign committee, though it will officially begin accepting contributions on June 4. On that day--the First Day, as it were--the campaign will take in donations that it can then tout as an impressive one-day haul...
...The new committee allows Thompson to continue to fulfill long-standing speaking obligations, while ramping up his inevitable presidential effort. His advisers describe it as a "natural progression" on the road to an announcement, which could come as early as late June or early July.So, perhaps Fred when is on the Tonight Show this Tuesday, he will promote that Fourth of July event in Tennessee -- as the time for his REAL announcement?
One rumor making the rounds last night anticipated an official announcement in his hometown in Tennessee in a month--on July 4th.
Independence Day could be Announcement Day.
I started hearing about it last December.
...Last night I attended an off-the-record American Spectator dinner with Thompson and his wife, Jeri; George Will and Robert Novak were also there.See also, from Mike Allen, with politico.com :I'm not supposed to say what was said there, but nothing I heard inclined me to think that Hayes and Allen have gotten it wrong... - Michael Barone
Fred Thompson will run, advisers say
By: Mike Allen
June 4, 2007 03:31 PM EST
Fred Dalton Thompson is planning to enter the presidential race over the Fourth of July holiday, announcing this week that he has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations, Thompson advisers told The Politico.
Thompson, the "Law & Order" star and former U.S. senator from Tennessee, has been publicly coy, even as people close to him have been furiously preparing for a late entry into the wide-open contest. But the advisers said Thompson dropped all pretenses on Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with more than 100 potential donors, each of whom was urged to raise about $50,000.
Thompson's formal announcement is planned for Nashville. Organizers say the red pickup truck that was a hallmark of Thompson's first Senate race will begin showing up in Iowa and New Hampshire as an emblem of what they consider his folksy, populist appeal.A testing-the-waters committee is to be formed June 4 so Thompson can start raising money, and staffers will go on the payroll in early June, the organizers said. A policy team has been formed, but remains under wraps.
The supporters on Tuesday's call make up a group the campaign is calling "First Day Founders." When launched, the campaign will have offices in Nashville and Northern Virginia, the advisers say.
Campaign officials said they have every indication Thompson will declare his candidacy, but cautioned that he could still decide not to run or to postpone the announcement. Mark Corallo, the campaign spokesman, said: "He is seriously considering getting in and doing everything he has to do to come to a final decision."
A member of Thompson's inner circle, who insisted on anonymity, said the former senator will offer himself as a consistent conservative who can unite all elements of the Republican Party. "The public is increasingly cynical and disenchanted with government," this adviser said. "Competence is at the heart of what people want from government, and they need to have a sense that government can do the things they care the most about. They want a reason to continue Republican governance. Thompson can be seen as the adult with a firm hand on the tiller."
Thompson urged the supporters to muster a major show of financial force in early July, just after the June 30 deadline for second-quarter financial reports to the Federal Election Commission.Thompson's top rivals — Rudolph Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney — will have a formidable advantage for the current quarter, so he plans to show his muscle right after that...
I think he can raise the money if he proves he can win.
Fred Dalton Thompson is planning to enter the presidential race over the Fourth of July holiday...Or not.
See also, from hillaryspot.nationalreview.com:
I guess that it depends on what your definition of "over the Fourth of July holiday" is.
No July 4 Announcement For Fred Thompson (UPDATED)
Just talked to a Thompson source I'll call "TA3" (Thompson Associate 3). Much more coming shortly, but the first word was, there will not be a presidential announcement from Fred Thompson on July 4.
(The Politico got it wrong, it appears.)
TA3: "There will be no July 4 announcement... There was some discussion of a June 4 beginning of fundraising; that's the date checks will be collected. I suspect that's where there was some confusion."
The forthcoming announcement will be that Thompson is "testing the waters." While Thompson is in that not-quite-announced-candidate stage, he will be able to complete previously committed paid appearances and speeches and continue work his work on ABC radio and filling in for Paul Harvey. He is not lining up additional paid speeches or appearances.
TA3 also said there was nothing to any rumors that yesterday's conference call was a response to polls or any other outside pressure, or that it was hastily thrown together in response to outside developments. "A conference call with 100 supporters pledging to raise 50,000 each doesn't generate itself."
TA3 also answered a few questions I had of Thompson's video response to Michael Moore. He said neither the former senator nor the folks around him expected it to get the attention it did. He said the video snippet "gave people a small window into the different kind of campaign that he would be running if he got in... It will be all Fred, all the time... If people want their Fred fix, they'll get it. He'll be out there constantly, if he's not in your hometown, he'll be on your computer."
My gut instinct after talking with TA3 is that there will be an announcement in July, but not July 4.
UPDATE: I notice other media are still saying the Thompson activity "could culminate in a formal announcement over the July 4th weekend," while Fox News is saying "sometime after July 4." I can only tell you this is what my source, who is clearly within the Fred Thompson inner circle, told me.
One would suspect that right before a long holiday weekend (and with July 4 being a Wednesday, I'll bet a lot of people take Tuesday and/or Monday off) is one of the worst times to announce a presidential campaign, as people are paying the least amount of attention. So an announcement right after the Fourth of July makes sense...
Also, I agree with my old friend Blake Dvorak that announcing on that date could come across as cheesy.
Awaiting the Great Thomopson & Romney debate.
You want him to explain why he accepted a membership in a prestigious think tank?
He’s a foreign policy wonk. He hasn’t even written any papers for the CFR, as far as I can tell.
And once again, no self-respecting group bent on world domination would invite Angelina Jolie to be a member.
You black helicopter people are too much.
You may have started hearing people calling for him to run. Nobody truly thought there was much of a possibility until he said he was considering it just a few months ago. And he obviously truly WASN’T thinking about it, or he would have planned his contracts and commitments differently.
“The Tonight Show is a perfect venue for Fred, whether he “announces” or not.
He’s comfortable with people and vice versa, and speaks very well off the cuff, also charmingly self-effacing.
The other candidates can only WISH for this kind of audience.”
But I just wish he would not announce on the Tonight Show!
I want him to call a news conference, give the reasons in a nutshell why he is running, and put it out on the net at the same time. If not a news conference, he should announce next time he gives a speech to a large group.
I believe Fred Thompson has already told Dick Wolf, the producer of Law and Order that he will NOT be coming back next year. I don’t know if there is a contractual reason that he cannot announce before the movie debuts on HBO.
“But Thompson does have a cozy relationship with NBC, home of both ‘Tonight’ and ‘Law & Order...’”
All the more reason to make me want to THROW UP! If Fred were really serious about this, he’d have been there from the beginning on the front lines with the other guys.
Hmmm. If he announces on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, it’s possible that could create enough buzz so that during any TV specials on the 4th, if they’re talking about the 2008 election, his candidacy could be mentioned. Talk about free publicity!
Of course he won’t announce on the “Tonight Show”. He’s waiting for the Fourth of July for full patriotic limelight.
Meanwhile, Romney and the other candidates are campaigning their hearts out for us.
Actually, I want Fred in because he will take votes away from some of the other guys and my guy will benefit.
I also like Romney very much. A Thompson/Romney ticket would certainly get my vote, and I would hope for Duncan Hunter as head of homeland security.
What, and have people ignoring him like they've done the others for the last 9 months? Only the VEY hardcore Republicans and the pundits are paying any attention right now. Fred's waiting hasn't hurt him one bit, and it hasn't been UNFAIR to anyone else. The other guys didn't have to jump the gun and get in right after the elections of 2006, but they chose to, so they have to live with the consequences.
Nope, they're campaigning their hearts out for THEMSELVES.
Fred T - as Romney says - “Come on in, the water’s fine.” Yahoo!
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