Posted on 06/26/2007 3:41:27 PM PDT by Rick_Michael
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The biggest question in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination is whether or not former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson can sustain his warm-up act once he becomes an actual candidate. The actor once did what many politicians could never imagine by walking away from a career in the Senate. Now he is on the verge of doing what few politicians can even dream of by entering a race for the White House on top of the polls for his party’s nomination.
Thompson, preparing to formally announce his candidacy, leads the pack in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey with 27% support. That gives him a four-point advantage over former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani who is currently preferred by 23% of Likely Primary Voters. A week ago, it was Thompson 28% and Giuliani 27%. Two weeks ago, they were tied at 24%. Prior to that time, Giuliani had been on top in every weekly Rasmussen Reports poll for five months
Thompson leads Giuliani by 13 percentage points among conservative primary voters while Giuliani leads among moderates.
Among Republicans, 74% now have a favorable opinion of Giuliani. That’s down from 82% in late May. Twenty-three percent (23%) of Republican voters have an unfavorable opinion of the former Mayor. Thompson’s numbers among the GOP faithful have been moving in the opposite direction. Sixty-six percent (66%) of GOP voters have a favorable opinion of the actor while just 18% have an unfavorable view.
Among those with more strongly held opinions, Thompson currently has an edge --21% of Republicans have a Very Favorable opinion of him while 14% have a Very Unfavorable opinion. For Giuliani, those numbers are 18% Very Favorable opinion and 19% Very Unfavorable.
Another new poll shows that both men are competitive in general election match-ups with the Democratic hopeful from Illinois, Senator Barack Obama. Obama is currently second in polling for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
This week’s GOP poll also finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney earning 12% support and Arizona Senator John McCain attracting 11%. Romney is viewed favorably by 56% of Republicans nationwide and McCain is viewed favorably by just 55% (40% have an unfavorable view of the former frontrunner).
On Monday, McCain strongly denied rumors that his recent plummet in the polls might cause him to drop out of the race. Over the past month, McCain lost a net ten points in a general election match-up with Senator Hillary Clinton. McCain’s decline among Republicans is tied to his support for an unpopular Senate immigration bill favored by just 22% of all voters.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is atop the second tier safely behind the leading candidates at 3%. Six other candidates--Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Governor Tommy Thompson, Congressman Duncan Hunter, and former Governor Jim Gilmore—split 7% of the vote. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure.
Rasmussen Reports releases updated polling data on the Republican nominating contest every Tuesday. Results for the Democrats are updated on Mondays. The current survey is based upon national telephone interviews with 587 Likely Republican Primary Voters conducted June 18-21, 2007. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. The Rasmussen Reports sample includes not only Republicans, but also independents who say they are likely to vote in a Republican Primary.
I hope you are not serious.
Have you been to any of his websites?
http://fredfile.imwithfred.com/
Here’s how he’s voted in the past:
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Fred_Thompson.htm
He writes much of current issues.
But doesn't say much of what he would do.
Funny that so many are having trouble articulating what he would do as Preident. Yet it seems they are already backing him.
I have an easier time with him than I do with Giuliani, Romney, or McCain.
When I’ve heard Thompson speak, he answers questions and doesn’t dance around the subjects. He actually voices his opinions.
I have read lots. But he doesn't come out and say what he'd do on major issues; it's not clear.
And most of his backers (even on this thread...including you?) can't say either.
I'm not saying I won't vote for him once I find out what he wants to do. But I certainly won't say I'm for him at this point, unlike many who are already backing him even though they don't know his positions.
Whatever what’s up
He's a good speaker...I'll give you that.
But so are most top-notch lawyers.
Good speaking skills are not enough for me.
Overall, I prefer to not have a lawyer in the WH. I prefer someone with executive experience. Not to say I won't vote for Thompson. But nothing leads me in that direction yet.
Yeah..."whatever" seems to be the response whenever anyone wants specifics on Thompson.
Not many are. And that's why I'm waiting until May or Jun 08 to decide.
It surprises me, however, that the majority on FR seems to be whole-hog for Thompson already even though they don't know what his major policies might be.
Why do you insist on being spoon fed answers to your queries instead of just doing a little research on your own?
It makes me think you are just more interested in provoking some sort of reaction than in actually learning anything - but I could be wrong, I suppose.
Who has executive experience, Romney???
Geez, Bush had executive experience, and I’m very disappointed in him.
My main to issues this time are War on Terror and Illegal immigration.
Thompson is good on both issues, and he can win. Tancredo and Hunter are good on both issues, but they can’t win.
Obviously you haven't read the thread.
As I said, I've read Thompson's columns. But he rarely says what he would do as President to do to meet the problems.
I would never back a candidate unless I knew how he was going to tackle big issues.
For example...on immigration...is he going to build a real wall...virtual wall...what?
This is the issue most important to conservatives these days. They back Thompson but don't even know specifically what he'd do on immigration.
And his columns, though they point out the problem of illegal immigration, don't answer that question.
Politicalmom:
Not exactly related to this thread, but isn’t his campain HQ opening today ... does FR have someone there to cover it? Just wondering since you know everything there is to know about Fred. I was hoping for some new news this evening (something Freddish to share at the dinner table tonight.)
I would appreciate ANY kind of answer...non-spoon fed would be fine.
However,if you look over this thread you will find that hardly anyone can give ANY kind of answer...spoon fed or not...about what Fred wants to DO as President.
Surprising, really, for people who back him so ardently.
since no-one on the Dim side has any, the "executive" candidates on the Republican side will try to make that an issue - and probably lose because it just opens the door for a lot of lies, misrepresentation and even honest critiques of things that didn't turn out so well under their watch.
With both sides lacking "executive" experience, I think the campaign will have to focus more on raw ideology - that should be good for us.
(ps - I don't think any executive experience actually prepares anyone for the office of POTUS. It's just light years beyond any other job. Still, I do feel a little uneasy about anyone in the office who hasn't demonstrated some capacity for the "executive" role. It's a crap shoot. They may do well or they could completely flounder in so many many many many ways. If Fred actually manages his campaign instead of being managed by it, I'll feel a little more comfortable. I'll be watching to see if he stays Fred - or starts looking "packaged")
The article for today said Fred was in Tennessee, was met at the airport by a large crowd chanting “Fred, Fred, Fred” and as he left to go take a look at the possible headquarter building, they started yelling “Run Fred, Run!”.
I guess we will hear more about the headquarters soon.
What does he want to do in the WOT? What is his position on Iran? Any answers?
Does he want to build a wall? Virtual? Actual?
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