Posted on 08/21/2007 5:10:38 PM PDT by xcamel
More than a dozen years after it was credited with helping turn around his first bid for public office, Fred Thompson's old pickup truck sits parked behind his mother's house in this Nashville suburb.
The red paint is faded and the tailgate hangs open, but supporters would like nothing more than to see the actor-politician leap back into the bed to make stump speeches in his bid for the White House.
The Republican has not yet announced his candidacy _ that's expected next month _ and there's been no word from Thompson's campaign about whether there will be any role for a red pickup truck. A spokeswoman for Thompson did not respond to messages seeking comment about the truck.
Early in the 1994 race, after struggling to connect with voters, Thompson decided to lease a used truck and drive around the state in what turned out to be a wildly successful effort to recast himself as a folksy man of the people.
His opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, derided the truck as a cynical prop to deflect attention from Thompson's inside-the-Beltway status. But Thompson was able to shake off Cooper's suggestion that he was actually a "Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaireWashington special interest lobbyist."
Thompson ended up capturing more than 60 percent of the vote.
Bill Lacy, hired this month to run Thompson's campaign, has a bit of personal history with the truck _ he opposed the proposal to make the pickup a focal point when he was an adviser on the 1994 campaign.
"Fred had the good sense to ignore my advice," Lacy said in an opinion piece in The Knoxville News Sentinel in June.
But Thompson so far has not appeared overly eager to climb back into the cab. At his first public event in Nashville after forming a "testing the waters" committee in June, Thompson shook off an attempt by supporters tohave him address the crowd from the back of a brand new red pickup truck they had brought to the event.
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On the Net:
Fred Thompson: http://www.imwithfred.com
:)
It may be Thompson, it may be Rudy...it may be somebody we don't even know yet...
Rule of thumb, however...don't pay attention to anything before Labor Day.
We have a couple of weeks to snooze....
Yes, mommy (daddy?). LOL
I hope you are right, because right now it's the bottom of the ninth with two out and the count is 0-2 on The Fredster. If he doesn't get on base he's done.
Why?
Janet Reno used one in her electio bids.
How many OTHER candidates use a red pickup?
Cuz he was in Congress and they don’t command National Guard troops (thank goodness). It wouldn’t be his job to take care of a statewide anything. That would be the governor’s job, wouldn’t it?
‘Felt good to vent’
That will be $125 bucks, roll over and have a smoke.
Damn! I could have had a cold shower instead and saved the money. I don’t smoke anymore, though. lol
Since his name was brought up and talked about, I’ve been doing background research. Books, government reports, the FRead threads. Time well spent. I’ve been getting more and more enthused about him the more I read. Plus, he looks like my father in law except he is taller. I have a lot of affection for my father in law so it made me more inclined to listen. I really like what I’ve read about him and what he has done. His resume is exhausting reading. His travel schedule is exhausting trying to keep up with everything he is doing. I figure as long as he [and I] keep busy working and preparing, we’ll be ready when he does declare. It will be worth the wait IMHO. I like hearing him speak because it brings back good memories, and what he talks about is important to me. I think he’s the best under consideration. I’ve looked at some others and just can’t get that interested in any of them. Some would be okay, others not okay. I really want to vote for Fred.
Got to keep busy, those who sit and wait are more likely to criticize others who are actually doing something. I’d rather be a doer than just looking idly.
Wow! You totally missed the point.
People who want to be President need to work their way up into the job. In a practical matter, you don't go from Congressman to President (or, at least, you shouldn't).
If you have Presidential ambitions, you should get yourself elected Governor...that is a good stepping-stone to the Oval Office.
Duncan Hunter has shown NO ability to do that.
Can’t argue with any of that. I just want him to get into the fight already.
>>Ronald ReaganThe problem is, I don’t want anyone in there that has had ambitions to be president since he (or she) got into politics. Maybe that’s unrealistic, but that’s what I think.
How many past presidents had all that experience you describe?
It was NEVER going to be in August. I was disappointed when he didn’t declare in early July, but he clearly stated he needed more time to get his campaign organized.
I suspect many of the people who are ragging on him to get in are hoping that he will panic and announce while not fully prepared.
You’re the one asserting that Fred is “being cute”. The rest of us have put forth multiple reasons for not announcing yet.
And he HAS talked about why he’s been deliberate. Testing the waters and determining his support and also weighing what will be a HUGE life changing commitment for him as well as his entire family.
If that isn’t reason enough, then frankly I don’t think you want to hear any.
You've got to be kidding....are you that clueless?
1) Correct. It is early.
2) This is NOT 1979. It’s 2007. Things change.
3) I don’t really have another candidate that I’m excited about. I like Hunter, and Romney is starting to grow on me, but nobody to really rally behind.
Evidently, I am. Clue me in.
And who, Oh Enlightened One, is that candidate then?
>>The problem is, I don’t want anyone in there that has had ambitions to be president since he (or she) got into politics. Maybe that’s unrealistic, but that’s what I think.
How many past presidents had all that experience you describe?<<
There was a time when the Presidency seemed a more noble office and we didn’t know all the details of their private lives and every boy and many girls dreamed at least for a while of being President.
Give it another 20 years and there won’t be any candidates left who remember that time and it will safer to reject everyone who has always wanted to be President.
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