Posted on 09/03/2007 3:24:18 PM PDT by asparagus
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Monday said he would welcome Republican rival Fred Thompson to the race, but also took some jabs at Thompson's long delay in formally announcing his candidacy.
Thompson, the "Law & Order" television actor and former senator from Tennessee, is expected to officially enter the race this week. Instead of attending a Wednesday night debate in Durham, N.H., Thompson will be in Los Angeles to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
"I think it will boost the ratings for Jay Leno's show, but I'd rather be doing well in New Hampshire," said Romney, who is leading in most polls in this early voting state.
Thompson's candidacy has been a shadow on the GOP contest. He has equivocated about getting into the race, while his campaign organization has been in flux. His entry comes remarkably late in a campaign cycle that began days after the 2006 midterm elections.
"Well, I guess the only comment I'd make to Fred Thompson would be: Why the hurry? Why not take a little longer to think this over?" Romney jokingly told reporters. "From my standpoint, if he wants to wait until January or February, that would be ideal."
That's when the primaries unfold in rapid succession.
Romney spent Monday opening his fall campaign, marching in a Labor Day parade in Milford and attending retails stops elsewhere. He said voters would note who is there — and who is not.
"I think people will notice there have been a bunch of guys who have been working real hard to get to know voters across the country," Romney said.
As for Thompson's entry, Romney quipped: "I think he'll have some fun. We're going to presumably have some debates with him. We'll have had five without him."
The only desperation I’m detecting is coming from a handful of Fredheads who feel they cannot let a Romney thread go by without feeling the apparently uncontrollable urge to sneer at, smear and insult Romney and his supporters.
We can then judge whether it is what you say, or your “Fred-Fear” shading your response.
Oh I see...sorry, I misinterpreted your post. My bad!!
To answer your question, I would anticipate him rising in the polls a bit, but I must admit it will be a difficult stretch to catch Fred due to Hunter’s low spot on the political ladder.
Keep dreaming, dude.
>>>>We just had seven years of a successful businessman running the country.<<<
I’d like to see how you’d reason that George W. Bush was a successful businessman. Granted, he sold the stocks of one of his companies as it was about to be bought out and made a handsome profit out of it. That’s about as far as it goes with him, though.
As for federalism, with a need for federal tort reform, a federal marriage amendment, and federal incentives for states to deregulate their insurance industries, I’m not so sure I could support a candidate who bought into dogmatic federalism.
There are issues that are beyond the scope of a pure federalist outlook on government.
Bingo.
Everyone take note of who is breaking Reagan’s 11th commandment. Many supporters mouth Reagan’s principles but when push comes to shove they resort to name calling.
Mitt Romney has the most impressive resume of ANY candidate in BOTH parties, and the best resume for a presidential candidate, possibly in my lifetime.
I put Conservative Principle over whether he was student body president, or smoothly ran a sports entertainment festival.
Fred, Paul, or Hunter are the only guys who knows how to handle the jackals in Congressa and have foreign policy experience.
Who edits this stuff?
I'd have more respect for Romney if he had ran for Governor in 1998 and had two full terms under his belt by now, instead of using Boston as his foot stool for the Presidency in a measly 2.5 years of real work as Governor.
Thus far they’ve called him (and this is RIGHT IN THIS THREAD) “Oven Mitt,” “Precious,” a “political whore,” and “Willard the Weatherboy.” And that’s just Romney himself.
Need any more?
That only applies to real Republicans.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone attack a politician for the failures of his peers to be elected. Romney invested quite a bit of his own money in helping Republicans become elected. That it didn’t transpire in Massachusetts—well, I think your logic is looking like a few logs tossed in the ocean for a few months...
That bears repeating!
>>>Fred is not even late in entering the race. He is doing so around the traditional time, the other candidates have been ridiculously early.
<<<<
Do you really believe that? There is a reason that the Ames Straw Poll has played a key roll in Iowa for years. The tired argument that Fred Thompson is entering the race at a normal time (weeks after Ames) is just ridiculuos rationalization.
Fred Thompson’s campaign has been crumbling and incompetent to this point. Perhaps he will get it together. Not that he can draw off of his leadership experience in the past to pull it off because he doesn’t have any.
The ole red prop...er...pick-up....won’t cut it this time.
This will be my one and only defense of the Precious one in this thread, but it will serve to prove his hypocrisy. He went all over the state claiming how William Weld, perhaps the single most destructive RINO Governor in the last 50 years, was his political hero. Weld, being the quintessential egomaniacal sociopath, couldn't handle having another Republican who would steal the spotlight from him, and helped sandbag Romney. Weld, despite winning by a gargantuan reelection, did zilch to help other Republicans (sound familiar ?), and we actually had LOSSES in MA in 1994 and barely reelected our then-two GOP House members. Weld just didn't care. Romney's hero. He should've realized then that liberal Republicans only look out for #1, but yet he still subscribes to the mantra. He completed the job started by his hero Weld of burying what was left of the state party by fleeing his job and responsibilities this past January. And now he wants to inflict that damage in DC to the national party. He must be stopped. At all costs.
>>>I’ve written over one thousand posts on that buffoon from MA attacking his lack of substance and the political ruins that he leaves in his wake, go look them up. <<<
I tend to have very little respect for those who can but criticize. It’s very easy to do that.
It’s far more difficult to lead.
Lots of guys can sit in their LazyBoys and moan at the offensive coordinator. Precious few of them can get in the booth, put on a headset, and play the part with any success.
I have to agree with you there. It would take most people a dozen lifetimes to have that many positions on nearly every issue.
Plutarch, if you pat yourself on the back any harder you may bruise.
FRED ON FEDERALISM AND THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE
“Beyond specific policies, what’s needed are some basic rules to restrain the federal rule-makers. A good first step would be to codify the Executive Order on Federalism first signed by President Ronald Reagan. That Executive Order, first revoked by President Clinton, then modified to the point of uselessness, required agencies to respect the principle of the Tenth Amendment when formulating policies and implementing the laws passed by Congress. It preserved the division of responsibilities between the states and the federal government envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution. It was a fine idea that should never have been revoked. The next president should put it right back in effect, and see to it that the rightful authority of state and local governments is respected.
"It is not enough to say that we are “for” federalism, because in today’s world it is not always clear what that means. What we are “for” is liberty for our citizens. Federalism divides power between the states and government in Washington. It is a tool to promote freedom. How we draw the line between federal and state roles in this century, and how we stay true to the principles of federalism for the purpose of protecting economic and individual freedom are questions we must answer. Our challenge – meaning the federal government, the states, our communities and constituents – is to answer these questions together."
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