Posted on 10/22/2007 9:52:02 PM PDT by Doofer
Pundits and Democrats are making the same mistake with Fred Thompson that they did with Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower: underestimating him because he's not a workaholic. Mr. Reagan liked to joke that "They say hard work never killed anyone, but I figure, why take the chance?" Reagan also once observed of himself, "I've really been burning the midday oil." The same could be said of Mr. Thompson. To detractors, this is clear evidence of his limitations. It isn't.
Any wise manager knows that long hours are not synonymous with added productivity. It could be the other way around. Working too hard usually indicates that an executive is disorganized, can't manage time, and has problems delegating authority. That person stays up late and brings work home on weekends because he has to. But working overtime is hardly the same as working effectively. Typically, it's just the opposite.
One of Al Gore's weaknesses during the 2000 campaign was that he worked such long hours and had his fingers in so many pies that he seemed to lose sight of his overarching message. Mr. Gore was not good at delegating. He was more in the Jimmy Carter tradition. As president, Carter was notorious for being so loath to delegate authority that he brooded over schedules for the White House tennis courts.
For some reason this tendency seems to afflict Democrats more than Republicans. Democrats routinely confuse hyperactivity with achievement. This began when John Kennedy made such a fetish of contrasting his "vigor" with Ike's apparent indolence.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
I met Reagan Fred is no Reagan
Reagan was remarkable.
I can’t imagine Reagan voting against convicting Clinton either. Fred does not impress me, especially after finding his statement regarding the Senate vote to convict Clinton. I want someone who knows the VALUE OF KICKING EVIL IN THE ASS!! I just don’t see it in Fred, but boy did I ever see it in Reagan.
Nice (apologist) piece for those who support Thompson. However, his energy level isn’t his only problem. Like the others, he, too, has been an imperfect conservative. Worst of all, people are having to find excuses for why Thompson seems half-dead. He’s no neo-Reagan. They used to comment on Reagan’s schedule, sharpness on every issue, rigor of his activity at his ranch. Even giving Thompson the advantage of the doubt, I didn’t think that he was that charismatic during the Sunday night debate. He had some good lines but it was easy to zone-out on him due to his slowness. He was on the verge of boring. It was like he wasn’t taking it that seriously. Vis-a-vis Hillary, he would look old and ineffectual. Even McCain, who is older, had more on the ball than Thompson. All in all, Thompson has been a big disappointment instead of the “winner” so many expected him to be. And...it’s showing up in his numbers and fund-raising.
I remember ‘82 when inflation was coming down and unemployment going up and the tax cuts had passed and the media was going ballistic and Reagan held his ground. He had courage and principle.
I remember it well....by 83, my real estate business doubled!
Clinton was reportedly a hard worker.
“Clinton was reportedly a hard worker”
So many pages.......so little time :-)
Fred’s philosophy:
Not sure I want the job, would take it if the American people want me to. (Shades of Gorge Washington).
I have provided you with a complete exposure of my personal beliefs. These beliefs have not change over the years.
What you see is what you get.
My life is an open book.
I will run if you think my beliefs are what you want.
If not, I will go fishn’
My kind of President.
That down-home “twang”, and his general, no nonsense, personality, says it all for me.
Very Reaganisk (?)
Get your facts striaght. Fred voted to convict Clinton. The obstruction of justice charge was defeated with 50 votes to 50 votes, with Fred voting for conviction. The perjury charge was defeated with 45 votes to 55 votes, including Thompson against. 67 votes are required to convict a POTUS on any single impeachment charge.
Yeah all those little hard-workers like BJ and Hill and Congress really do a great job don’t they....slow and steady might be better than all the busy little socialist Dem bees....as well as the Repubs that work hard for their earmarks!
Apology for the triple entendre. ;O)
ping
Depends on whose "reporting" the "reportedly" was based, I guess. But his alleged late hours at the White House do prove the author's point: it's not how many hours you spend on the job, it's how much actual work was accomplished, vice wheel-spinning, dead horse flogging, "policy wonking" and mindless pontificating.
Fact: Fred Thompson voted to convict Clinton and remove him from office.
Nothing wrong with Fred`s energy level.
Nothing wrong with Fred`s conservatism either.
And like Reagan, Fred supports federalism. He wants to resurrect Reagan’s EO#12612, making the federal government adhere to the Framers idea of limited government and states rights.
All this stuff about Fred being tired, lazy and boring, shows a level of desperation by those people who don’t support Fred`s campaign.
Fred`s a winner. Fred can beat Rooty and take down Hillary. Wait and see.
see the Kindergarten Brigade has show up again full of irrelevant and immature posts about how candidates look, no fire in their belly, or their wives are too young.
Nothing of substance, nothing about the issues, just the ramblings of 4 year olds performing below grade average.
People who have to post this way because either their candidate sees Fred or other conservatives as a danger, or they are here to divide and conquer.
What you have probably not noticed, is that by and large, Free Republic is populated with members who have mastered critical thinking, who are mature, and do perform at and above grade-level and therefore, for the most part, find your infantile posts humorous at best.
Given the quality of your posting skills and associated cognitive abilities, you may want to visit www.democraticeunderground.com just a few doors down. People of like character flaws frequent this site and actually feel fulfilled!
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.