Posted on 09/04/2007 8:40:11 PM PDT by SmithL
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's current political playbook - a high-profile visit to the "Tonight" show, a splashy bus tour, the efforts to take a familiar actor and reintroduce him in a new political role - contains pages that look eerily familiar to California voters.
Maybe that's because the former Tennessee senator now has at his side some of same key aides who - in nine short weeks - helped transform Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger from "The Terminator" into the chief executive of the Democratic-leaning most populous state in the nation.
Thompson plans to formally kick off his presidential bid - shaped around the themes of "security, unity and prosperity" - beginning today with a blitz that reflects his media savvy and his advantages as an actor better known to many Americans as District Attorney Arthur Branch on TV's "Law & Order."
Thompson's campaign includes two veterans of another whirlwind effort - the 2003 California recall election starring Schwarzenegger - who know first hand at least some of the challenges ahead.
They are Todd Harris, who was Schwarzenegger's campaign communications director and will hold the same title for Thompson, and veteran Republican strategist and Fox News commentator Karen Hanretty, the former press secretary for the 2003 recall effort, who will be Thompson's deputy communications director.
Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's current communicators director, said the pair provide Thompson a "a big picture thinker out of the box" - Harris - and "one of the most effective political spokeswomen in the country" - Hanretty.
Both are "seasoned in translating the benefits that someone has from working in entertainment into a political reality," he said. "For Fred Thompson, it's a very smart hire: there's not a lot of people who understand taking a national entertainment figure and translating that into political value."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
That’s too bad, following Arnold.
Vote for Duncan Hunter and you won’t have this problem.
Wives ARE a very good barometer.
They have tremendous influence.
Fred chose wisely.
“Fred chose wisely.”
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AMEN to THAT!
You mean that guy sitting at 1% in the polls. No thanks.
>>>Thankfully, the USA is NOT California, and Fred wont have to campaign as if it is.<<<
You mean Hollywood Thompson is a just a myth?!! :(
The cartoon of the looming figure of Fred T is quite fascinating. While the other guys campaign their hearts out, debate and stump, Fred sits back relaxing yucking it up with his Council on Foreign Relations pals. I think that’s why he’s so smug, aloof and arrogant - because he’s the darling of the great council.
I like Mitt’s style - just a hard worker with a great family and a vision for America. I’m proud of my guy.
LOL!
‘Fraid so. ;o)
Hard worker?
I’m sure he’s had many blue collar jobs.
Your guy inherited millions and, most important, his NAME.
Why don’t you stop with the smears on any and all candidates who aren’t Mitt?
It’s just plain tacky.
“Running a campaign is vastly different from governing.”
Well, I think it says a lot about leadership. Compare Fred’s with Mitt’s.
I like to see that kind of commentary. It reminds me of when Hillary and Edwards were discussing the lesser candidates during the debates. If people who stand up for the principles of conservatism are mental midgets perhaps you and your candidate would be more comfortable in another party? Let's get the lesser (lesser according to whom, some poll?) candidates out of the way so we can have our popularity contest and elect the same old same we always have. Message to New Hampshire voters & Fox: I can run a 30 second ad and show up on some liberals talk show, but sorry, can't make it to your little debate. Keep up the arrogant commentary and reinforce the notion that the supporters are as shallow as the candidate.
“Well, I think it says a lot about leadership.”
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How so?
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“Compare Freds with Mitts.”
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Why?
I don’t think Hillary will be their candidate...she sounds way too bitchy even for liberals...
And the BBQs at the CFR are pretty damn good...
One more thing ~ Mitt chose a woman much like his mother, who was vocally, ADAMANTLY pro-choice.
It’s helpful to look at the women behind the men.
“Your guy inherited millions”
Not so. See below:
Mitt Romney gave his entire inheritance to charity that he received upon his father’s death in 1995. He didnt pursue a career in any industry with which his father or family had connections, and he moved to Massachusetts from his home state of Michigan where his father’s influence could have been a ticket for a free ride.
Some may consider his education a product of privilege. He managed to get a wonderful education at BYU (class valedictorian) and Harvard, graduating with honors from Harvard with both an MBA (Baker Scholar) and Juris Doctorate, cum laude, in only four years. Plenty of people graduate from Harvard with one of those degrees, yet don’t become the most successful venture capitalist and one of the most brilliant executive managers in the country during the last 50 years.
An excerpt from a C-SPAN Q&A interview follows:
Brian Lamb: By the way, why did your father not give you any of his inheritance?
Mitt Romney: Well, he didnt have as much as I think some people anticipated. And I did get a check from my dad when he passed away. I shouldnt say a check, but I did inherit some funds from my dad.
But I turned and gave that away to charity. In this case I gave it to a school which Brigham Young University established in his honor, the George W. Romney School of Public Management.
And as an institute of public management, it helps young people learn about government and about serving in public service. And thats where his inheritance ended up.
Lamb: Did he have a philosophy that he didnt want to pass on a lot of money to his kids?
Romney: Well, I dont think he had as much as some people might have imagined. And he spent his money on things he cared about. He was a real champion of volunteerism.
So he funded volunteer efforts and worked to support the things he cared about. My kids got some money from my mom and dad. They are happy that they were able to receive some funds. That helped them in their education and getting started in life. But in my case, I figured we had enough of our own.
(C-SPAN Q&A Transcript, Brian Lamb, Host, March 19, 2006)
Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, did not play a part in the creation of Bain Capital, the company founded by Mitt Romney and two other partners where he made his fortune:
“Bain Capital LLC is a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by Mitt Romney, later Governor of Massachusetts, and two other partners from Bain & Company, the consulting firm: T. Coleman Andrews and Eric Kriss. Bain Capital was originally conceived as a combined equity start-up and leveraged buyout fund, an innovative strategy at the time.”
“The original $37 million fund was raised entirely from private individuals in mid-1984, led by Ricardo Poma, the El Salvadoran billionaire. One of the fund’s first start-up investments was Staples, Inc., the $15 billion office supply retailer. The funding enabled Staples to expand from one store in 1986 to nearly 1,700 in 2006. Bain Capital founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies including Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino’s, Sealy and The Sports Authority.”
“In addition to the three founding partners, the early Bain Capital team included Fraser Bullock, Robert F. White, Joshua Bekenstein, Adam Kirsch and Geoffrey S. Rehnert. Bullock joined Romney as the Chief Operating Officer for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games when Romney left Bain in 2001 to lead the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.”
“Twenty years after its inception, Bain Capital manages over $17 billion in assets, and holds positions in such iconic American companies as Toys R Us, Burger King and Unisource.”
During his service as the head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Mitt Romney personally contributed $1 million to the Salt Lake Winter Olympics and donated his three years of salary ($922,980 total) and his $476,000 severance pay to charity. Gov. Romney never took the $135,000 annual salary for his time as Governor of Massachusetts and has said he would not take a salary if elected President and would instead donate the money to charity. The Tyler Charitable Foundation, a joint family trust of Mitt and Ann Romney, has donated more than $2.9 million to more than 40 healthcare groups, schools, and other charitable organizations since 1999.
Ahhh...yes. The cheapshots at Ann Romney.
You know, it makes quite a compelling argument for Romney. How he vetoed an embryonic stem cell bill that would have gone towards doing MS research, in part, no doubt. His wife suffering from MS.
I guess he hates his wife, too, huh? Yup, this just in. Mitt Romney hates his wife...and her little dog, too!!
His wife, who, incidently, is co-chairman of Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Maybe she did that to spite Romney’s mother. What do you think?
I think you’re definitely on to something here.
“One more thing ~ Mitt chose a woman much like his mother, who was vocally, ADAMANTLY pro-choice.”
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Interesting...and helpful.
Thank you!
.
“Its helpful to look at the women behind the men.”
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So true...
Fred praised Arnold in his Lincoln Club speech in Orange County last Spring (it's on YouTube.) I have no doubt his admiration extends beyond Arnold's election strategy.
“Fred is going to need more than a few catch phrases.”
Catch phrases SELL to the sheeple in a media-centric world.
(Witness the effectiveness of such catch-phrases like, “Bush Lied!!”, or “Illegal War For Oil!!”?)
They get the sheeple to PAY ATTENTION, then look deeper into what one has said...
Gov. Arnold is NOT a Republican.
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