Posted on 08/16/2007 6:45:42 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
When Fred Thompson makes his long-delayed entrance into the Republican presidential race, he will not tiptoe quietly. Instead, he will try to shake up the establishment candidates of both parties by depicting a nation in peril from fiscal and security threats — and prescribing tough cures he says others shrink from offering.
In a two-hour conversation over coffee at a restaurant near his Virginia headquarters, the former senator from Tennessee said that when he joins the battle next month, he "will take some risks that others are not willing to take, in terms of forcing a dialogue on our entitlement situation, our military situation and what it's going to cost" to assure the nation's future.
After spending most of the past few years on TV's "Law and Order," and starting a new family with two children under 4, the 65-year-old lawyer says he finds himself motivated for the first time to seek the White House.
"There's no reason for me to run just to be president," he said. "I don't desire the emoluments of the office. I don't want to live a lie and clever my way to the nomination or election. But if you can put your ideas out there — different, more far-reaching ideas — that is worth doing."
Thompson, like many of the others running, has caught a strong whiff of the public disillusionment with both parties in Washington — and the partisanship that has infected Congress, helping to speed his own departure from the Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Ever try to put a campaign together? Even at the congressional level it takes a long time get the ducks all in a row. That was forty years ago, What must it be like when tens of millions of dollars must be raised and a senatorial size staff assembled. Of course, he is not starting from scratch, but still, he has been out of the game for five years and he is older.
...zzzzzzz......
Bracing!
Reagan was a great optimitst but a whole lot of stuff got left undone that did not need to get left undone.
This has got to be a joke, right? This is the guy who avoided major debates with the other candidates and now he wants to “take risks”?
Relax...
It’s Summer. The silly season....
The Never-Ending Campaign only appeals to us junkies. Thompson has been absolutely correct to wait, and let the field thin out on it’s own before committing.
We already see what it’s doing to Hillary...
You idiot, to run you have to be a millionaire. That simple.
It sucks, but that is life. And you propose running some common joe.....say hello to President Hillary under your ideas.
I hope you are right.
You really are a racist psycho....put down the bottle.
Woo hoo!! Run, FRed, Run!!
“There’s no reason for me to run just to be president,” he said. “I don’t desire the emoluments of the office. I don’t want to live a lie and clever my way to the nomination or election. But if you can put your ideas out there — different, more far-reaching ideas — that is worth doing
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Obviously, this is the way the system was supposed to work. Run a campaign on what you truly believe is right and let the voters decide and if you lose go home gracefully knowing you have put your message on the table. Unfortunately it has mostly degenerated to the point that nearly all candidates say what they think will win whether it has anything to do with what they really think or not. That is why nobody trusts politicians.
Major debates? Oh, you mean mean those dog and pony shows where the dogs and ponies were limited to 30-second answers to stupid questions.
Interestingly, Reagan spent years on the rubber chicken circuit, speaking about issues to women’s voter groups, town meetings, rotary meetings, wherever he could find an audience. At the time he was (except for Goldwater), a lone voice in the wilderness. Middle America knew him and loved him. No wonder Fred resonates with the same people.
I am beginning to see that name calling is habitual here, by a chosen few. I am glad I don’t have to be a part of the crowd who is PC .There are some here who are still conservative and think free speech is a good thing.
Ah, so you can dish it out but can’t take it. Typical.
You call those debates “major”? How so? Ten guys answering stupid questions from idiots in 60 and 90 second time increments is a “major debate”?
Wow.
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