Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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Posted on 11/06/2007 7:22:29 PM PST by ellery
A dozen Republican voters put a human face on the uncertainty over their party's 2008 presidential candidates and the downbeat mood of the nation that has been registered in recent polls.
In a two-hour discussion Thursday night in this Richmond suburb, they expressed doubts about the leading candidates and readily shifted their allegiances in their quest for a conservative GOP standard-bearer.
All but two identified themselves as Republicans or conservatives. Three said they were moderates. They participated in a focus group moderated by pollster Peter Hart, a Democrat who regularly conducts such nonpartisan sessions under the sponsorship of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
-snip-
Rudy Giuliani, who leads most national GOP polls, had the most support at the outset. But several who initially favored the former New York mayor acknowledged that they were torn between admiration for the leadership skills he displayed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and concern about his support of abortion and views on gay marriage.
The group, as a whole, knew far less about Fred Thompson, who only entered the race in September. "He's not comfortable in his role yet," said June Beninghove, 67, a retired secretary, who nonetheless said she favored the former Tennessee senator.
Others cited his personal characteristics, calling him conservative and fatherly and, in one case, "more like [the late President Ronald] Reagan."
But when the group was asked toward the end of the evening to choose between Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Thompson, most - including several initial Giuliani backers - raised their hands for Mr. Thompson, despite uncertainty about him and his views.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Related: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1922046/posts?page=1 (an analysis of the focus group responses by Michael Barone at US News)
The spin barone put on this discussion about mittwitt is disgusting. Considering that it says the majority would vote for Fred by a show of hands.
Here’s another look at the same focus group: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1921543/posts
The real message here is that people who know almost nothing about the candidates are still happy with Rudy Giuliani. People who have a superficial knowledge of the candidates and where they stand tend to abandon Rudy Giuliani in favor of Fred Thompson. Whether more knowledge will cause them to abandon Fred Thompson is yet to be seen.
I think many people still aren't ready to deal with another campaign. They don't want to think about who might be our next president. If Rudy Giuliani and John McCain hadn't been the early favorites, I might be one of these people. I didn't like becoming involved early this year, but I wanted to start working to derail the Giuliani campaign. At this point, I'm sure that many people have only vague impressions of the candidates, their positions, and their backgrounds. As the knowledge base changes, so will the standing in the polls.
Bill
Good question. I agree — I don’t think a lot of people are really paying attention yet. I hope that bodes ill for Giuliani, but things seem so wide-open and contradictory right now that I can’t even hazard a guess.
Thanks! I did a search...I guess the articles are written from a slightly different angle...
Hm...I was thinking the article was relatively even-handed. What did I miss? Does Barone have a history of supporting Romney?
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
WARNING: If you wish to join, be aware that this ping list is EXTREMELY active.
and here's a window into the democrat mind
Vague impressions is right. There are a LOT of conservatives at work that are clueless and leaning towards Giuliani......these are people I know would not like Rudy if they knew all about him. I have told them about him and I think I am making headway but it is hard to overturn that Rudy911 image.
Most of my co-workers are lib dems and they don’t like sillary. I don’t where these freakin polls are coming from showing her in the lead....it does not make sense.
As for me and my house we’re giving to Fred.
I don't think many people want to admit that they will likely vote for sHrillary. Even people who are hard-core liberals realize that she doesn't represent the good-hearted (and soft-headed) ideas that made most of them embrace liberalism. They may support her as the candidate most likely to beat the Republicans, but they may also wish that they had better choices.
Bill
Bill
Why is that?
Mr. Back or Mr. Hinders (whatever you call yourself) I just voted for you buddy. But I tell you what, it was a pain in the ass. Now you owe me. Good luck to you man.
"..(The real message here is that)...people..(who) ...know almost nothing about the candidates ...(are still happy with Rudy Giuliani)".
Look at the recent LOCAL ELECTION Campaigns (In your own towns , folks!) : How they were RUN-and HOW the VOTERS either ;turned out or DIDn'T Turn out, What Platforms were/weren't used to run on and the VOTERS " Feelings " and comments.
CONSERVATIVES Have always been more HONEST & OBJECTIVE when it comes to Campaigning; saying, " HERE I AM! This is the REAL ME! and here's what I plan to do! A, B, C !
Democrats-Just like in the LOCAL ELECTIONS- had won because of Polling to see WHAT The PEOPLE "Want"-and going DOOR TO DOOR and having THEM be the ones to stand on the " You Town Folks here have ALL Known ME & My Family for YEARS!-so Vote for ME! " and " FEEL GOOD " Campaigning! The Bend, Shift, Lie to fit what People THINK they want, and Run on EMOTIONALISM.
What Conservatives forget is that PEOPLE ARE POLITICALLY Ignorant . They are SHORT TERM , Selfish, Easily Emotionally Controled & Lead, & more recently: under-educated & STUPID. AND the Make-Up of Populations have Changed Drastically in Culturally, Race, & Beliefs areas where DEMS will go DOOR to DOOR to find this out-while Conservatives think ALL it will take to win is sending out MESSAGES in Advertising.
And also DEMS are Concerned Only with WINNING- and THEIR Supporters will ALWAYS Vote DEMOCRAT no MATTER What the issues are or how much Graft or Jail time their candidates have!
“As for me and my house we’re giving to Fred.”
Same here! When folks get to know how Fred stands on the issues, they are becoming supporters. I happen to know several Democrats who are saying they would vote for Fred over Hillary. :)
“But when the group was asked toward the end of the evening to choose between Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Thompson, most - including several initial Giuliani backers - raised their hands for Mr. Thompson, despite uncertainty about him and his views.”
The more people interact with Thompson, the more his support will grow. That’s not the case with Rudy.
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