I agree with your comment about his sit down with H&C. Fred does very well in those situations, but that is not the way politics are played these days. If he could sit down and talk to all the potential voters in their living rooms I think he would have a great chance, but in reality he has to go out and go toe to toe with others who are better in the format of the 30-60 sec sound bite answer. I do not like this way of picking candidates, it is a little to commercial for my taste, but that is the world we live in.
Fred is a bright man with some great ideas who understands what is facing this country as we move forward in a hostile world. When he does his PH stints or has a chance to do commentary he is great and very convincing, but as Newt, someone else who’s ideas I like has pointed out, it is hard to express big ideas in a 60 second answer. Fred could be of greatest service by doing his commentary, countering the liberal spin and opening the country’s eyes to our looming problems, much like RR did for years before his run for the WH.
Years ago when I was a small town reporter I learned that to get the real interview with country men, you had to walk with them. Fred Thompson seems to be that kind of fellow - he has that southern/western/country cadence. He’s the type that will impart real wisdom while walking down to the barn or leaning over the fence with his neighbor. He is out of his element in the quick paced debate world of the sound byte. He needs to pick up the rythm there. Better yet, he needs to take advantage of his natural cadence -the sincerity and soft humor he has and connect with the average Joe on a real level. That is why people say he reminds them of Ronald Regan. It is that country sort of realism that is very independent and down to earth. It is a sort of calmness and confidence.
Perhaps he could have a few walks down to the corral interviews on a website that would give him a venue that would use his cadence to advantage and where voters could discover his larger views about federalism and other big picture perspectives.
I still think that he has it over all the other front runners on sincerity.