Posted on 12/28/2007 10:09:53 AM PST by jellybean
'Laid back' Thompson says he knows how to win By Ed Tibbetts Quad-City Times
About the nicest adjective some analysts have applied to Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is he's laid back.
More often, they're apt to call his campaign lethargic, dull, lazy, sleepy-eyed -- or, in the words of a conservative columnist, "fizzy as day-old cherry Coke."
Thompson, if he cares, doesn't show it.
In fact, he seems to wear his demeanor -- and his campaign's pace -- quite proudly.
Take when he walked into the Thunder Bay Grille restaurant in Davenport this month.
Barely had he begun speaking when he acknowledged the criticism. He said it reminds him of his first run for the Senate in Tennessee in 1994.
"It's kind of funny because the same things I hear about myself today, I heard about then," he told a room of more than 150 people. "Does he want it bad enough? Is he ambitious enough? Did he get in soon enough? All those things that didn't, to me, have anything to do with the future of our country, seemed to consume the attention of the chattering classes a whole lot."
In the end, he tells the crowd, his campaign went from 20 points down to a 20-point win. And in a state that Bill Clinton carried.
"I think I know a little something about winning elections," Thompson said.
With little time left before the Jan. 3 caucuses, Thompson trails in most polls, lagging behind Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and, often, Rudy Giuliani.
He's trying to change, though. Thompson's cranked up a bus tour, heavy with stops at local newspapers and town squares. And, in perhaps the biggest boost to his Iowa campaign thus far, he won U.S. Rep. Steve King's endorsement.
The conservative Republican from western Iowa is a favorite of the right.
Thompson's entry into the presidential race was much anticipated.
There was speculation he would consolidate conservatives unhappy with the records or prospects of the rest of the field.
It hasn't worked out that way, but what Thompson has done along the way is win plaudits for substantive policy proposals on immigration, taxes and Social Security.
On Social Security, for example, he's said the government needs to change the way it pays out future benefits, tying it to the consumer price index. What that will do is lower the rate of increase, something some economists believe is essential to the retirement program's long-term future.
He's also proposed allowing people to create private accounts.
"There's no reason to run for president of the United States if you can't tell the American people the truth about complex issues like Social Security," Thompson said while rolling out the plan last month.
He's also proposed cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 27 percent and ending the alternative minimum tax, which was initially instituted to catch rich people who avoided paying taxes but now is threatening to ensnare more middle-class taxpayers.
Bill Edmonds, a Davenport man who left a job as a car salesman in Wyoming two years ago to be closer to his grandchildren, said Thompson is the "true conservative" in the race.
He said people who just see Thompson as laid back, miss his strength.
Thompson is perhaps best known today for the roles he's played in movies like the "Hunt for Red October" and on television's Law & Order where he plays prosecutor Arthur Branch.
Thompson gained initial fame as legal counsel for Republicans during the Watergate hearings. And his career got a big boost in the late 1970s when he represented a woman fired from Tennessee's parole board for failing to help the politically connected.
Thompson got to the Senate by winning a special election in 1994, then a full, six-year term in 1996.
He focused on stopping nuclear proliferation and, in 1997, led a Senate investigation into the Clinton White House's fundraising.
Thompson faces long odds in Iowa, though he's performed better in most national polls. Here, he appears to be targeting Mike Huckabee, criticizing his record as governor of Arkansas and frowning on his foreign policy credentials.
Thompson may blame the attention to his demeanor on the "chattering classes," but interviews with Iowans say that they, too, are paying attention to how all this is translating in national polls.
Thompson is seeking to make that case. He said from now until Jan. 3, he's going to spend a lot of time in the state.
Thompson Campaign: Launches closing TV ad in Iowa, "Substance" 12/28/2007
CONTACT: Press Office
571-730-1010McLean, VA -Senator Fred Thompson today launched a new 30-second television ad, titled "Substance," which will begin airing today in Iowa. The 30 second spot can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lssb6gkjQa4
Below is the script for the new ad.
Substance (30 seconds)
Fred Thompson: I'm Fred Thompson and I approve this message.
Announcer: The Wall Street Journal says Fred Thompson's tax cut plan "leads the GOP field."
A leading economic group calls it a plan "conservatives can rally around."
The conservative National Review says only Thompson has outlined "specific, conservative policies" on immigration.
Investor's Daily says Thompson's national security plan features a "Reaganesque rebuilding of our military."
And the National Right to Life Committee endorsed him because they know he can win.
Fred Thompson. The clear conservative choice.
Current total:
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Add $50 to the total...just got off PayPal.
My “behind the scenes” numbers derived from Rasmussen have me feeling a bit better today. I hope the current (apparent) trend holds up.
Do share! :)
Cool! Better return than cattle futures...’cept when Hillary does it.
Fred Thompson: Iowa Bus Tour Stops Announced While the press consistently ignores Fred Thompson, his campaign quietly goes about its business.
The "Clear Conservative Choice Hands Down!"--as the Thompson Bus Tour in Iowa has been named by the campaign--announced the latest updates for the next three days leading up to the Iowa caucuses.
The Fred Thompson campaign announces the following updated schedule for the second leg of Senator Thompson's bus tour through Iowa from December 27-December 29.Go here to see scheduleSenator Thompson will appear live tonight on both FOX radio's John Gibson Radio Show and FOX's Hannity & Colmes tonight (I think this was last night). He will also appear live on CNN's American Morning tomorrow morning, Friday December 28th. An additional downtown in Montezuma, IA, has been scheduled for Saturday December 29th.
Traveling media should contact Darrel Ng at dng@fred08.com to reserve a seat or for more information regarding the bus tour.
Members of the public who would like to RSVP or receive more information about the events should contact (515) 276-9427.
Video: The case for Fred posted at 10:28 am on December 28, 2007 by Allahpundit
Process of elimination via Right Wing News. Fredheads may be interested to know that their guy, in his hour of need, with a fundraising deadline less than eight hours away, is still almost $100,000 from his goal. For all my jokey comparisons between the ‘Heads and the Paulnuts, this much is clear: Either the ‘Nuts have a lot more disposable income or the ‘Heads aren’t nearly as enamored of their candidate as they claim. Chop chop.
As the rest of the field works hard to lower expectations in Iowa, Fred’s actually raising his. Last month it was fourth place that was unacceptable. Today the goalposts have moved. Does he know something we don’t or is it a simple case of not wanting to admit on television that he’ll be happy, and lucky, just to take the bronze?
Current total:
The Caucus Countdown: 6 DAYS We did it! Together, we raised enough money to get Fred's new television ad on the air in Iowa! Watch the ad titled "Substance" and make a donation today so that we can keep it running statewide through the Caucus on January 3rd. We've raised $162,865 so far from 2282 contributors who have given an average of $70 each. We are within $86,000 of meeting our goal of $248,846.
What a moron that guy is.
Maybe it’s going slowly because FRed’s donors are AVERAGE people with Christmas expenses, not skinheads and Soros.
OK...I’ll add another $50.00 to spur your next contribution.
FRED THOMPSON - NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT (I’ll protect the American people and American values, whatever it takes to stop the Islamic-Fascists including water-boarding) - 2ND AMENDMENT ADVOCATE (’arming the People to disarm criminals and making available to the general populace superior weaponry to deal with domestic terrorists where ever and whenever they may be found) – INCREASE THE MILITARY’S STRENGTH AND SIZE (giving those brave men and women a Commander in Chief to be proud of) - SECURE AND SEAL THE BORDERS (don’t give sanctuary anywhere to illegal’s, don’t employ illegal’s, don’t rent to illegal’s, don’t extend credit to illegal’s, don’t give illegal’s rights they don’t deserve, report all crimes committed by illegal’s and deport those illegal’s who have already committed crimes against America) - LAW AND ORDER (enforcement first and foremost with laws currently on the books) – DENY FEDERAL DOLLARS TO SANCTUARY CITIES (enough is enough) – CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES FOR SUPREMES (those who will interpret the law, not create rights that do not exist) – PRO-LIFE ADVOCATE (nominate superior Constitutional Justices to overturn Roe vs Wade) - SOCIAL SECURITY REFORMER (reform a broken program that can’t sustain itself and will bankrupt future generations, with the added benefit of private savings accounts) - DEFEAT ANY DEMOCRAT AND RINO (any fool DemocRATS put up) – TAX SIMPLIFICATION (variety of choice for the tax payer) - WON’T PUT UP WITH CRAP FROM THE MSM (including stupid questions by moderators and pundits) - “WE THE PEOPLE” CANDIDATE (We the People asked him to run and he stepped up) - PING!
$190,641 just now
Now $191,101. Let’s keep it going.
FRED THOMPSON is the man...show Iowa he is the only Conservative alternative.
At 12:39PM CST I made my contribution and the total was $185,115
It’s now (roughly) 1:06 PM CST and the total is at $191,991
IOW a $6876 gain in about half an hour.
:^)
Make that $19TWO,191
Up $1000 since I checked and hit the post button on my just previous post
:^)
I do a couple things with Rasmussen’s published numbers. I take the four day average and try to come up with the minimal change from the previous day’s numbers that would move the candidate to that day’s number and also do an eight day rolling average that seems to show trends a bit better.
The daily “plug in” numbers (least scientific) shows Huckabee dropping like a rock. He had an unusually high number yesterday and then dropped a bunch today. It means the sample for today had to be very low for him.
“Where did my numbers show them going to?” You ask. In spite of McCain and Giuliani going up on the daily average, I show them dropping. Both men had unusually high numbers recently with much lower numbers just before them. The small numbers dropped off. They were replaced by numbers that were lower than yesterday, or else their numbers would have jumped more. (Actually, McCain broke almost even.) Romney and Thompson were the two that jumped a bit. Though my daily numbers show they moved about the same amount, Fred dropped off a higher number than Romney... I think he might be starting to gain some traction. So this is all really a feeling.
My graph of the eight day averages shows Fred holding steady, but poised to start a rise as some lower numbers drop off. Giuliani was dropping the fastest, but levelled off. Romney is in a very slow decline. McCain is up, but his numbers show signs of steadying and probably dropping. Huckabee is going down and the drop seems to be accelerating.
As I said, my numbers are not the most scientific way to do this, but it is methodical. Using one day jumps and drops is not a good idea - they can be statistical noise. However, we are taling about why I feel better. It is a gut feeling. Also, remember that for Huckabee to drop 3 points in a four day average, he had to drop about 9 points from yesterday’s numbers.
Wow! What a schedule Fred has been keeping! So much for the continued “lazy” comments! Fred is the man who I believe will win in Iowa! GO FRED!
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