Posted on 09/02/2007 8:34:49 AM PDT by knighthawk
WASHINGTON - Conservative Republicans disenchanted with their presidential options dream that Fred Dalton Thompson is the Great Right Hope for 2008.
Fans of the 65-year-old actor and former Tennessee senator call him a Southern-fried Ronald Reagan clone with impressive name recognition and a folksy appeal who can unite the party - and beat Hillary Clinton.
It won't be a cakewalk for Thompson, who, after several false starts, will launch his candidacy Thursday via his I'mWithFred Web site. He's starting unusually late, has had trouble raising cash and has been soporific in recent testing-the-water outings.
"The wow factor is gone," a Republican operative who isn't supporting any candidate said. "His window of opportunity may have closed."
Yet a GOP mandarin and Bush official who's also neutral thinks Thompson's the winning formula for the party - and for a country craving plain-spoken leadership.
"He's the best bet for us," the official told the Daily News. "He's ideologically and culturally suited to our base, and he's been away from Washington long enough that he's not perceived as part of the mess."
The possibility that Thompson might run instantly catapulted him past John McCain and Mitt Romney in the GOP rankings, behind Rudy Giuliani. That's a good tipoff that many Republicans are uneasy about the rest of the field and willing to give Thompson a serious look.
"The best thing going for him is he's not McCain, Romney or Giuliani," a former White House aide noted.
Thompson is seen by many GOP strategists as a particular threat to Giuliani. Like Rudy, he exudes star quality because of his movie and television roles. His orthodox conservatism attracts party activists fearful Giuliani is soft on social issues.
"Thompson is an authentic, credible conservative," said Curt Smith, a former speechwriter for former President George H.W. Bush. "Giuliani is not."
The lanky, slow-talking actor-pol who played District Attorney Arthur Branch on "Law & Order" supports the Iraq war and opposes abortion and gun control. He wants a smaller federal government and says vice presidential aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby should be pardoned.
Like Reagan, Thompson couches his red-meat ideology in soothing, crowd-pleasing homilies.
"How do people follow when people don't have any confidence in what is said and who is saying it?" he likes to say. Another favorite: "I'm tired of people feeling like they've got to apologize for America."
Aides say that's not just rhetorical fluff. Thompson believes the leadership void in Washington has reached critical mass, and he is determined to overhaul Social Security, Medicare and other cherished entitlement programs.
"For the first time in our history, we have a government that can't do all the basic things we expect our government to do," he says. Backers call Thompson's belated entry a genuine draft and argue his late start can be overcome by his down-home populism and personal magnetism.
"We have a guy with a message that resonates, which is why he'll surprise," a senior adviser said.
tdefrank@nydailynews.com
Ping
Reagan 'Rats are gonna love this guy....
Don’t worry about money. Once Fred announces the floodgates will open.
our present government is interested in one thing handing our sovereignty away to the highest bidder. ( or maybe whoever is willing to come take it off their hands. )
Romney.
if she was running against Big Bird, Hillary still would not have the right stuff...
if she was running against Big Bird, Hillary still would not have the right stuff...
He makes you have a log-in????? Why? No other website insists on having our personal information.
Scott Thomas Beauchamp
FRed BUMP!
I hope Fred lives up to the hype. All of the declared frontrunners have lost me. Right now I’m a Tancredo guy, but would love someone more viable.
I read articles on the site without logging in...
Yep, Asks you to log in.... Guess it helps keep those those who are not upfront and open supporters out.
“It won’t be a cakewalk for Thompson, who, after several false starts, will launch his candidacy Thursday”
False starts my shiny hiney, the only group predicting an earlier entry were the Press and his opponents and his staff shuffling is one of the MAIN reasons to have a testing the water phase. Everything is proceeding according to plan.
He could run as a common sense Washington outsider with Ronald Reagan-class communications skills, Thompson’s name recognition is still limited, but his celebrity means his face recognition is unusually high and very favorable.
“He’d have instant credibility within the party and would be a very formidable candidate against any Democrat in November,” said former U.S. Sen. and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. “He has a very solid conservative record, but like Reagan, he has been able to charm many who may not agree with him on every issue.”
Bob Beckel, who managed 1984 Democratic nominee Walter Mondale’s campaign, called Thompson potentially a Democratic electoral nightmare because of his communications skills and ability to appeal to swing voters.
Thompson’s candidacy is intriguing to some because of his potential to appeal to independents and moderate Democrats, like McCain? and Giuliani. But unlike they, his background and charisma could fire up the GOP base, which is searching for a champion.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/thompson_could_fill_the_missin.html
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Which is more likely, that the extremely polarizing Hillary can appeal to red state NASCAR dads, or that TV and movie star Thompson with his deep voice and folksy, reassuring, Reagan-like manner can woo the ever-anxious, blue state soccer moms? Lets face it; the man is a 6’5 tower of walking gravitas...
http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/03/22/fredheads
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Democrats who dismiss Thompson as an “actor” are being foolish. He is a great campaigner, winning two Senate elections by more than twenty points, is seen as a straight talker who thinks for himself, anti-corruption, for campaign finance reform, strong on national security, fiscally conservative, a self-made rich guy who likes guns and hates the malfunctioning federal government we have today. Democrats had better think long and hard on who will be running against Fred Thompson in 2008 when picking a nominee.
Thompson has said if he enters the race it will be because the current Republican field is unsatisfactory, and it is, but the Democratic field has nobody who can run against Fred Thompson and win for sure.
http://www.moderatingthemadness.com/2007/03/watch_the_independent_voters.html
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Fan blogs for “Law and Order” note that since the show is especially popular among women, a Thompson race could help close the GOP’s “gender gap.” The most pithy comment is from Craig Hammond, a former mayor of Bluefield, W.Va. He told the Bluefield News: “He’s the tall timber we’ve been waiting for. He’s the total package. He can hold the red states and pick up a few blue ones along the way.”
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009798
Fred bump.
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