Posted on 08/16/2007 9:30:03 AM PDT by Plutarch
Fred Thompson's window of opportunity could hardly have been wider. His opponents were fatally flawed in the eyes of the socially conservative Republican base; he's well-known, can raise money, and speaks language that both Republicans and independents leaning right can embrace. Even thinking of entering the race put him above double digits in polls.
But, thanks to a number of missteps and opportunities his pseudo-campaign has failed to capitalize on, Thompson's window is now closed...
The Law & Order star, running a "testing the waters" committee, raised approximately $3.46 million in June after launching June 4th. The campaign's goal was $5 million raised in the same period. Missed expectations are not enough to doom a campaign, but Thompson's media team did little to dampen expectations when they released the report on the last day of July, even though they had to know for weeks that the numbers were lower than expected....
...Fred Thompson had his chance to make a splashy entrance into the race. In fact, he has had many chances to do something to impress political watchers and his fans on the right. Time and again, though, he has missed those opportunities. Instead of managing expectations and raising impressive sums, his campaign reported disappointingly low numbers. Instead of hiring a staff and sticking with it, his campaign has already been beset by turnover. Instead of serving as the conservatives' best hope, they are forced to make excuses as to why his positions are acceptable to them.
Every day he remains out of the race is another day of organizing and winning support lost. At some point, time simply runs out. Thompson has simply waited too long to take advantage of the good will, good fortune and good position that awaited him once he entered the race.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Now, in this day of instant communications and 10 second soundbites, it somehow takes longer to select candidates. Years longer, for some.
I'm sure that's obvious to some, but not to the vast majority of voters who don't pay any attention to politics, at least not until we are in the SAME YEAR as the election. Wouldn't it be a hoot if FDT waited until Labor Day to announce and then won the nomination and then became President!
I am just amused that Anthrax Scare remains one of two Hot Topic selections six years on, and I can't resist selecting it.
Nationally, Fred’s tied for first place with Rudy (within the MOE). How could this be with him doing everything wrong?
I have been sitting here thinking that maybe they are right, maybe Fred is waiting too long. Maybe the delays are all based on false pretenses...
Certainly something is afoot beyond the headlines...
Then it hit me. Look at the timing...
Fred will announce the first week of September...
Karl Rove is leaving the end of August...
I felt it was too much of a coincidence, this has been almost too well played. So I finally figured it out.
Karl Rove is tired of being behind the scenes, but knows he is to divisive to mount a campaign as himself, so he is running..
As Fred Thompson...
The way I figure it Fred fell ill from his cancer some months ago and is being kept alive in a secret military hospital outside Washington DC. Karl knew this and saw his opportunity...
He has had stunt doubles appear as FDT in public, published articles and appear on radio.
All the while the evil genius has had his team of brilliant scientist who built the hurricane machine create the most incredible device ever made, a fully functional bio mechanical “Fred Thompson Suit” that Rove will ride in while campaigning and serving his term in the Whitehouse...
The technical issues that must of been encountered in building such a device easily explains the delays, but with the firm date of Rove's departure, it is obvious they have sorted out the technical issues and it is ready to go...
It is a brilliant plan and a wonderful achievement in Republican politics...
I salute you Mr. Rove...
er I mean "President Thompson"...
Oh, good Lord. {shakes head in frustration}
Fred is doing the right thing, waiting until all these so-called ‘3rd tier’ candidates are weeded out, which IMO is about 98% of them!! From all parties! Fred is doing things the right way, the way they used to be done, and he’ll get the job done as President, the way they used to be done. Enough already with this ‘instant gratification’ business. No need to jump into the pool yet, not while it’s full of boneheads who pee in the water! ;-)
AGREE!
The way the others are acting you’d think we were voting tomorrow. Voting time is OVER a year away. Already I have campaign fatigue with those who love to hear themselves talk.
RCP gives FDT the spotlight! Could this be because FDT is favored by the Establishment? I mean bad coverage is better than no coverage, and the MSM been covering FDT for months now to the exclusion of many of those actually declared and running. The MSM have even been kind to him with many cream puff interviews! An arsenal of special interest groups await the big day rumored to be upcoming.
No wonder FDT is in no hurry!
I don’t know who will win the primary.
But I know no window is closed on Fred. Until they show me primary voters with a candidate polling 50% of the vote and the undecided’s dramatically decreased? Yeah, not buying it. The base still hasn’t settled on anyone.
What I DO know is that no one is happy. Unless that changes, it doesn’t matter who wins the primary.
LOL...now that's what I call wishfull thinking!
Hell, I just re-upped my financial commitment to Fred. Sorry to hear he blew it </sarcasm>
P.S. FLASH! If Karl Rove joins the FDT team, expect Fred to suddenly be born again!
Bingo!
I agree with the writer. In the early summer, Fred had the buzz because he was “none of the above” in the Rudy McRomney suckfest. That was the time to seize the momentum and get into the race. Like Mario Cuomo and Colin Powell, Thompson has sat on the sidelines so long that Republicans are now looking elsewhere - at Huckabee, at Hunter, at Paul, etc.
A great candidate can’t be a great leader if he never gets onto the field. I think Fred may be rethinking whether he even wants the job. You can’t have a winning candidate who doesn’t have the conviction to run. That’s what all this indecision says to me. Fred can talk a good game but he doesn’t have the stones to jump in.
Don't you think that you would be better in italics? Are you disregarding the article because a notorious Romney supporter posted it, or because it casts aspersions on FDT's management of his campaign?
spend their money for nothing.
**************
Exactly. I wonder how many millions of dollars have been spent by those who have already declared?
There’s plenty of time yet for Fred to jump in - what’s the rush?
Perhaps, but I don't think so. The real political season will begin after Labor Day. I, for one, am not paying too much attention until then, i.e., until we get closer to the primaries. I think FDT still has time, and will get plenty of money--IF he connects well with the conservative base after he announces.
The sky is falling... the sky is falling. Oh, No....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.