Posted on 09/13/2007 8:24:22 AM PDT by pissant
Almost immediately following the launch of Fred Thompson's long-anticipated presidential candidacy, important neutral Republicans decreed privately that it had crashed and burned on takeoff. Many of these critics had wanted to board the Thompson campaign but were repelled by his "gatekeepers." That helps explain their attitude now, and not merely because of any bruised feelings caused by their exclusion.
Thompson's late start is not in itself a fatal flaw. Still, it had been conceded in party circles that when Thompson finally became a candidate, his beginning needed to be memorable. It was not. While Thompson offered obligatory conservative slogans in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, he was not the white knight whom worried Republican loyalists desperately desire. His debut might have been more blood-stirring had his gatekeepers not turned away talented helpers.
snip
The constricted Thompson circle may explain early shortcomings. After failing to perform opposition research on himself, Thompson has been taken by surprise by the dissection of his career. No new initiatives accompanied the unveiling of his candidacy. Skipping the Sept. 5 debate in Durham, N.H., while announcing his candidacy on Jay Leno's television program was a startling affront to New Hampshire.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yeah but he’s not Hillary at this point
Ping
Care to back up your accusation with details?
Except for his polling numbers, of course.
I realize it’s the WaPo, but Fred didn’t do a WOW coming out. Sort of a limp biscuit... in a field of them, so it’s a wash.
True, that.
It crashed and burned with elitists but the “common people” seemed to respond. Imagine that. Appealing to the millions that outnumber the few thousand elites. Who can win elections that way?
Pissant, bless his heart, is a Hunter fan.
Except for that whole “leading in almost all polls” thing.
Sure:
MCCAIN: But without the individuals who are here, Russ and I could not have succeeded. I chronicled that before, but the negotiations conducted between Fred Thompson and Dianne Feinstein were critical. Thad Cochran’s absolute stamp of approval was so important. The Snowe-Jeffords amendment, which was crafted over such a long period of time. Susan Collins’ involvement. Carl Levin, who, frankly, is the wisest parliamentarian that I know of, that kept us on a steady course throughout. There are many others to name. Arlen Specter, who played a key role in this as well.
So, so many of my colleagues that made this happen, that deserve the credit more than Russ and I do.
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/02/se.07.html
03-14-1997
A BROADER, FAIRER PROBE
In a triumph of common sense over partisanship, Senate Republicans did an abrupt about-face and agreed to broaden greatly a planned probe of campaign fund-raising practices.
The expanded investigation is also a triumph for the freshman senator charged with conducting it, Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., who in doing so not only bucked his own party’s leadership but persuaded a half dozen or more of his GOP colleagues to do likewise.
As envisioned by the Senate Republican leadership, the probe would have concentrated entirely, and to great gobs of publicity, on President Clinton’s fund-raising on behalf of himself and the Democratic Party.
While the White House excesses provide plenty of grounds for investigation, Thompson and his band of rebels foresaw that focusing solely on Clinton would have been seen - and rightly so - as partisan. The probe would have been discredited even before it began.
The upshot: The investigation will now look into such ripe areas as ``soft money,’’ where the Republicans enjoy a fund-raising edge; independent campaign expenditures by special interest groups, where both parties are vulnerable; and the role of tax-exempt organizations such as the one that landed House Speaker Newt Gingrich in hot water.
Having pulled this upset, now comes the hard part for Thompson.
The goal of any congressional investigation is to come up with solutions to the problem at hand, but Thompson faces a numbing lack of enthusiasm for reform from his colleagues who don’t see a problem with the system that keeps them in office.
Even as Thompson was savoring his victory, President Clinton was speaking at a $25,000-a-plate Democratic dinner and the Republican leadership was inviting interested parties to share their advice and expertise at $5,000 a pop.
Fred Thompson is often touted as presidential timber. If he can pull off a credible, productive investigation, he’ll have gone a long way toward proving it.
Gee, I’m suprised. Fred doesn’t want the “same ole - same ole” political insiders steering his campaign. I’m shocked, I tell you.
I know. by golly, he went out and got Spencer Abraham, some gay dude, Mary Matalin and Howie Baker.
The excluded ones would be with the imNOTwithfred.com movement?
Except for his polling numbers, of course.
And his grass-roots fundraising efforts... Thompson's team is pleasantly surprised by the significantly large numbers of small ($25, $50, $100, $250) contributions that have come through the Fred08.com website over the past week. Fred is going around the MSM and taking his campaign straight to the people, and the people are responding (and the MSM can't stand being out of the loop).
You be added to the list of donors by contributing to Fred's campaign here: 
But you see, that is part of the ‘crashing and burning’.
The campaign is out of control, lethargic, without a keen hand steering the helm.
So it is careening upwards in the polls right now in a big parabolic arc. The actual crash will come later - if he doesn’t go into orbit on those poll numbers first.
So the leftist speaks the truth... in his jaundiced eyes view.
LOL. Is there such an animal?
BTW, the fredheads think the Hunter fans have been hard on Fred. They should look at Brownback’s and Huck’s and Mitt’s bloggers.
To me, the NORMAL start time that Fred employed is great.
We have been starting these campaigns far to early and they run far to long.
It is everyone else that has been jumping the gun.
“Still, it had been conceded in party circles that when Thompson finally became a candidate, his beginning needed to be memorable.” It was not.
The first statement is a BS strawman concocted by the MSM and opposition. The second is a lie as Thompson has gotten a tremendous “bounce” as evidenced by the polls.
Yeah, but when you're a fan of Duncan Hunter (who is currently polling below Ron Paul), poll numbers just aren't important.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.