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Forget the bias of people who are reporting. The only question is, did Thompson walk into a crowd of excited people, and turn them into couch potatoes over a period of 20 minutes?

There must be a video of this. Are they lying, or did he “underwhelm” the audience?

BTW, if he did, it’s just one appearance, and maybe he was just tired or something. It’s not the end of the world.

But we shouldn’t debate other people’s opinions of something when there is a FACT that is there to be had, if we just look at the objective evidence.

I’ve watched a few Thompson speeches. Some excite me, some bore me. I’ve watched a few Romney speeches, NONE have bored me yet, most have truly impressed me — not EXCITED me, but impressed me, with the depth of knowledge and the ability to bring it to the conversation.

Nobody is going to accuse Romney of being an empty suit. And nobody on stage with him from the democratic side is going to look like an intellectual.

The only question is, did Thompson walk into a crowd of excited people, and turn them into couch potatoes over a period of 20 minutes?

Let me set the stage for you since I was at one of the talks. He was 30-40 minutes late because of seriously heavy rains here. The crowd was on average fairly old. Lots of gray hair and retirees, only a handful of twenty-somethings. It was not a super big gathering and it was a mature group, so less wild applause and more a group of earnest folks wanting to hear what he had to say. He talked in a way that was conversational and genuine. So no, we were not 'fired up' but it was not that sort of an atmosphere. Judging from the we saw going into the Obama rally that was next door I am sure there was more screaming and shouting that went on there. The GOP base, on a Tuesday night, just was not in that mood and there is nothing wrong with that. He was well received by the crowd and we like what we heard. With a crowd that probably averaged in the 50's there was not going to be a lot of folks jumping up and down and screaming.

I’ve watched a few Thompson speeches. Some excite me, some bore me. I’ve watched a few Romney speeches, NONE have bored me yet, most have truly impressed me — not EXCITED me, but impressed me, with the depth of knowledge and the ability to bring it to the conversation.

A while back, the MSM was telling us America wants a new "plain-speaking Harry Truman". Ever see Truman make a speech? He did not come off like James Whitmore in "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!". He came off like an accountant. Yet, people supposedly admire his blunt and direct comments and responses.

Thompson could be a Harry Truman type IMO, but he has more personality than Harry. Every time I see him interviewed, I am always impressed by the fact that he does not try the typical politician's dodge of changing the subject and not answering questions. When he was asked in one interview if he agreed with the Scooter Libbly sentence commutation, he said "heck, yeah, the president did the right thing. He shoulda pardoned him". When the same question was asked during a pubbie debate, some time elapsed before Guiliani finally said he agreed with it. Fred is up-front on these issues, as he was last night with his comments about the Rush Limbaugh BS scandal.

I guess I did find Thompson's interview on Hannity "scintillating". He gave the (IMO) right answers to some tough questions, which shows he has the courage to lead. I value a performance like that over rhetorical brilliance any day. Besides, the only presidents I've seen that truly impressed me with their oratory were FDR, JFK and Reagan. Churchill was impressive, too, mainly due to his choice of words. I almost never watch Bush make a speech. These guys don't write their speeches, anyway, and if their delivery is not that great, I don't bother. I just catch the "talking points" versions later.

If we can see Fred make some strong and courageous stands, while a Hillary or Obama responds with the typical lame "I'll have to wait until I can appraise the situation", or "we really need to talk about healthcare"; I think we will see the difference beween a leader and a power-hungry would-be demagogue.

>BTW, if he did, it’s just one appearance, and maybe he was just tired or something. It’s not the end of the world.<

Isn’t it?

How does this one strike you?

Current thread: Fred Thompson Speaks on Social Security = Video :)

What do you want, an organ grinder and monkey act?

FRed is serious, and these people are smart enough to understand that, and listen to what he has to say.

I really don’t think the couch potato remark was very flattering to Iowans.

From my own recent experiences, I waited for hours to see and hear a speech, when the candidate came in, it was more entertainment...again! I wasn’t all too happy with that, neither was my wife. We came to get a first hand look see and hear from the candidates mouth, what he had to say, not be entertained.

But, then, that may be all some other candidates can offer.