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Fred Thompson And The Value Of 'Easy Does It'
Christian Science Monitor ^ | October 23, 2007 | Ralph Keyes

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 ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: electionpresident; elections; fredthompson
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To: sageb1

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914818/posts?q=1&;page=201

It gets quite contentious in there. ;^)


21 posted on 10/22/2007 10:26:49 PM PDT by Shelayne (...)
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To: rodeo-mamma

Reagan promised to slash the size of government, scale back entitlements, and use the powers of the Presidency to pursue socially and culturally conservative goals. That he failed in keeping those promises didn’t hurt us or his legacy. Although, it can be argued, his amnesty did.

Personally, I think the Gipper would have made the same decision based on Constitutional law, as did FRed.

It’s NOT about kicking ass, nor getting even, or even teaching them a lesson, or do you forget?

It’s about governing, unifying, and healing the greatest Nation on earth. We need a steady hand, a calm demeanor, a person with the skills and tact to persuade his opponents to see things his way, not kick their asses into submission.

Those who would cast a vote for revenge, would surely cast away the hopes, and with it, the greatness of this Nation.

My Father fought for this Country, 2 of my Brothers fought for this Country, I fought for this Country, and my oldest Daughter has fought for this Country. I’d kind’a like to think it was worth it, and will always be so. If we go around electing folks based on revenge, it’ll be just like the Countries that we abhor.


22 posted on 10/22/2007 10:26:53 PM PDT by papasmurf (sudo apt - get install FRed Thompson)
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To: Reagan Man

“Fred`s a winner. Fred can beat Rooty and take down Hillary. Wait and see”

Too bad we have to battle the entire MSM(Fox included) to get Fred to win.


23 posted on 10/22/2007 10:29:16 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (Pray for, and support our troops(heroes) !! And vote out the RINO's!!)
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To: papasmurf

“My Father fought for this Country, 2 of my Brothers fought for this Country, I fought for this Country, and my oldest Daughter has fought for this Country.”

BUMP to your whole family!


24 posted on 10/22/2007 10:30:55 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (Pray for, and support our troops(heroes) !! And vote out the RINO's!!)
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To: MHT

“And...it’s showing up in his numbers and fund-raising.”

Interesting that Thompson is the only one to go up in the Rasmussen national poll in the last 10 months. (These are weekly averages of daily polls.)

05/22/07 10/19/07
Thompson 14% 19
Guiliani 26% 25
Romney 15% 15
McCain 18% 13


25 posted on 10/22/2007 10:39:53 PM PDT by Prokopton
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To: stephenjohnbanker

Thank you.


26 posted on 10/22/2007 10:45:40 PM PDT by papasmurf (sudo apt - get install FRed Thompson)
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To: Prokopton

Last 10 months should be last 5 months.


27 posted on 10/22/2007 10:47:50 PM PDT by Prokopton
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To: stephenjohnbanker
Too bad we have to battle the entire MSM(Fox included) to get Fred to win.

The battle will be the same to get any conservative elected.

28 posted on 10/22/2007 10:51:24 PM PDT by Prokopton
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To: Prokopton

“The battle will be the same to get any conservative elected.”

True enough.


29 posted on 10/22/2007 11:00:53 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (Pray for, and support our troops(heroes) !! And vote out the RINO's!!)
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To: Reagan Man
I've no feelings against a man who isn't driven to become president, even if others wish to label him 'lazy'. Among those who 'really, really, really' want to become president resides one Hillary Clinton. This alone, is enough to condemn this 'graduating' class.

Folksieness and common sense are often synonymous. My hope is common sense prevails. But, not the liberal kind- it's focus is too much on the 'greater good', rather than the 'individual good'. Our country was founded to protect individual good.

Wherever the greater good is promoted, the individual good is diminished, until the 'greater idiots' realize that the sum of the individual good exceeds whatever they envisioned as the 'greater good'.

A vote for anyone other than Fred is a vote for greatness. Well, not exactly the kind of greatness resulting from the freedoms Americans traditionally enjoyed, but from the Master Plan brimming from numerous attaches.

30 posted on 10/22/2007 11:21:56 PM PDT by budwiesest (The good 'ole days will return when we return fire.)
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To: papasmurf

Anti-movements are for losers; all winners are pro-something. Without a system of ideas that are workable, and nothing but hate to guide us...we’re no better than communists. There system failed on so-many accounts, and they’re nothing but an ‘anti-capitalistic’ system. A void.

Like Fred said, we can’t just be anti-hillary, anti-dem...we can acknowledge our deep disconnect with them, but ultimately it’s our ideas and beliefs in which we have to stand by. If our leaders and ideas aren’t working for us, then all the anti-rhetoric won’t do a thing.


31 posted on 10/23/2007 12:01:43 AM PDT by Rick_Michael (The Anti-Federalists failed....so will the Anti-Frederalists)
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To: Rick_Michael
Absolutely, I agree.

And that speaks his campaign slogan...

Prosperity. Unity. Security
Fred Thompson in '08

32 posted on 10/23/2007 12:11:45 AM PDT by papasmurf (sudo apt - get install FRed Thompson)
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To: al baby

Fred is quite accomplished and would do a good job IMO.


33 posted on 10/23/2007 12:17:33 AM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: A CA Guy

Make sure you vote for him in the CA primary, as I will. : )


34 posted on 10/23/2007 12:43:23 AM PDT by Rick_Michael (The Anti-Federalists failed....so will the Anti-Frederalists)
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To: Doofer

Workaholics make lousy managers usually because of their compulsion to micromanage. Where I work production would skyrocket if the Chief would just get out of the way.

There are certainly legitimate criticisms of Fred but the whole “lazy, young wife, old n ugly, no fire belly” line is so incredibly lame it is laughable....yet that is where the bashers focus....they are stuck on stupid.

On the other hand, the legitimate criticisms are few and far between and don’t amount to a hill of beans. So maybe stuck on stupid is the only path for an anti-Fred....oh well....


35 posted on 10/23/2007 4:35:53 AM PDT by HerrBlucher (He's the coolest thing around, gonna shut HRC down, gonna turn it on, wind it up, blow em out, FDT!)
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To: Doofer

I posted this last night and I will again. Attacks on Fred pull him and Reagan closer. He is very much a Reagan Conservative... the opposition and dims use the same attacks on Fred that they did Reagan. You so called Conservatives are so misguided... but many of you were during Reagan’s time too!


Here is a blast from the past... and you and your fellow operatives sound just like these people talking about Reagan. The romneyrootietoots have accused Fred of all of these things... right here on the pages of FR! It did not work against Reagan and it will not work against Fred!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18329-2004Jun5.html

“There were other contradictions. Reagan, the only divorced man to serve as president, preached family values but was a distant figure to his four children and his grandchildren. He urged a religious revival yet rarely went to church. He lauded military heroism after spending World War II in the hometown comfort of a Hollywood studio making training films.

But Reagan sometimes exhibited lapses that undermined his Great Communicator image. Factual errors were commonplace at his infrequent White House news conferences. He seemed often to have a sketchy command of military matters and once left the impression that submarine-based nuclear missiles could be recalled in flight. He forgot the names of Cabinet officers, trusted aides and visiting dignitaries. In Brazil, he toasted the people of Bolivia. Reagan brushed off criticisms about his verbal missteps, which he said were blown out of proportion by the media. In any case, he rarely suffered politically for such mistakes”.

LLS


36 posted on 10/23/2007 4:38:25 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Support America, Kill terrorists, Destroy dims!)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
Clinton was reportedly a hard worker.

Monica said he was always a hard worker. Other adjectives lewinsky used to describe the former perjurer in chief were small and bent. Don't know what she meant...

37 posted on 10/23/2007 4:55:09 AM PDT by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages - In Honor of Standing Wolf)
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To: al baby

I wish people would stop trying to make Fred Thompson into Ronald Reagan. He isn’t...and that’s not necessarily his “fault,” but rather, that Reagan was unique and there is no one out there who can replace him or be anything like him. I’m not trying to slam Thompson — he’s likeable and maybe he would kick some butt if he were President. I don’t know yet whether he’s the man for the job or someone else. But I know he’s not Reagan and the comparisons are making me nuts.


38 posted on 10/23/2007 5:04:25 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: Reagan Man

Thompson should have voted to convict of perjury then. He should have known he was dealing with the devil, he let Clinton get away with a technicality, not a big sin, but still a sin. You want to hold others feet to the fire, I think this is one situation that bears holding someone’s feet to the fire.


39 posted on 10/24/2007 3:03:53 PM PDT by rodeo-mamma
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To: iowamark

Fact: Fred voted against perjury


40 posted on 10/24/2007 3:04:32 PM PDT by rodeo-mamma
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