Posted on 12/30/2007 3:14:08 PM PST by FocusNexus
Saying he plans to make no changes to his campaign, Fred Thompson asserted today that he needs a strong finish in Iowa caucuses. "I need to come in second," he said.
While Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are both polling in the 27 to 28 percent range, Thompson is neck and neck with John McCain at around 11 percent. When asked if he would stay in the race if he finished third, he said "I'm not going to talk about things like that."
He did talk about the consistency of his presidential run. ..."But I'm going to be the same. It's worked for me pretty well in my career, being Fred, and I'm going to continue to be Fred."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Hear, hear!
I've decided to set a threshold for who I'll vote for. The more disgusted I get with politicians, the higher that threshold will get, but right now it's pretty low. I'd vote for most of the Republicans in the general election, even some real fruitcakes like McCain.
Although this slate of Republican candidates don't do it for you, think about the troops as a previous poster suggested. It is they who deserve our participation in the process. We should give them the best we got.
I know how difficult a decision it is to make and having made it I find not a great deal of solace, but it is simply the juncture I have come to.
He was JOKING about coming in second, people!
Thank you. It is why I support the man.
“If so, who would he support? McCain?”
Almost certainly.
If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bust his butt everytime he jumped. IF IF IF.
FRED sure didn’t sound like a quiter this morning on FNS, course Brit and all still have a speech block on saying “FRED THOMPSON”.
“Those polls show well over 50% of Republicans in Iowa undecided. Let us see who they make up their minds for.”
I wish the undecided voters would watch the interview at the C-SPAN link below, and then read the transcript (no video yet) of Fred’s interview with Chris Wallace. I believe it would help them to realize that Fred is the man we need in the White House! GO FRED!
Campaign stop in Iowa: Scroll down page to video.
http://www.c-span.org/VideoArchives.asp?CatCodePairs=,&ArchiveDays=100&Page=2
Transcript of Fox News Sunday interview:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,319053,00.html
In regards to your comment " Based on this and an earlier quote that he doesn't really want the job methinks he is getting ready to bail" you are either willfully ignorant of the facts in this case (link from Instapundit):
FRED THOMPSON corrects the media. "Today I had this story written about me regarding what I said at a Town Hall event in Burlington, Iowa by a reporter who wasn’t even at the event."
or you are intentionally spreading misinformation. Which is it? (see also here at NRO and do a simple Google search to find how dishonest the "earlier quote" story is)
The USA today story that started the "Fred doesn't really want the job" crap (and please don't try to deny that's what you're referring to) was from a reporter who didn't hear Fred speak, lifted a few words from someone else's article and rearranged the context to suit her agenda. She has already had to publicly apologize and the paper has issued a (very quiet) correction after the original reporter who was there, apparently as liberal as any MSM toady, publicly said that the USA today reporter got it wrong. (like Diogenes, I am pleased to find an (apparently) honest reporter)
I haven't found an original, in context, source for this new CBS "quote" so I don't even know if it's real, but I can state 100% that it is incomplete and taken out of context. Based on the earlier story my bet is that what they left off was something like Fred saying "some weasels who hate our country are saying" before he said "I have to come in second" and then went on to explain what he really feels he has to accomplish.
This is pure spin by people (you?) who hate Fred and probably hate conservatives (I haven't read your other posts and am only basing this on this post) trying to artificially raise the bar for Fred. My take is that you've been fooled by other bad people into believing this. Am I wrong?
Apparently you didn’t bother to check out how long I’ve been posting to this to see I am not a “troll”. If you had looked at some of many posts here you would have also seen that I am in fact a Fred Thompson supporter. So enough with the childish attacks and temper tandrums.
From the CNN story “And if you notice, I put the emphasis on running. I said I’m not particularly interested in running for president,” Thompson said in an interview on CNN’s Late Edition.
So — Thompson clarified that he really doesn’t want to run for President of the United States.
how did their annointed one work out for them? oh yeah...
The “annointed one” was Katherine Harris. She got 39% of the vote. Personally, I think we could have done better with another candidate.
I specifically said I didn’t care about any of your other posts, only that one.
That post was dishonest and referred to a dishonest and discredited news story. Even the author of that news story has had to apologize and retract what she said, yet you still continue to try to insist that it’s the truth.
You continue your dishonesty, particularly saying that you are a Thompson supporter. That is clearly a lie.
I said you were a troll OR ignorant and specifically chose to say that I assumed you were merely ignorant. Now I am sure that you’re either playing the part of a troll or are a complete fool.
Since you insist you’re not a troll then you are a fool.
Fred doesn’t want to RUN for president because he is not consumed by personal ambition. He is concerned about our country and feels he needs to be in this increasingly meaningless “horse race” that the idiots in the MSM insist on pushing in order to help fix what is wrong. You chose to take the side of the MoveOn.ORG / DNC / MSM goons in this argument.
I’m done with you.
Is that plain talk enough for you? Please quit pushing lies and propaganda.
What? I do believe that we are talking about two entirely different things here.
Harris was the people’s choice, anointed, if you will, but in no way was she “the anointed one” for the GOP party leaders in general, and the Bush family in particular.
In fact they withheld any support at all to make sure that she would fail -as far as they could manage.
Look who they threw all of their money and support at. Martinez. - and don’t say thats because he had the best chance.
He would have had no chance at all without the total committed support of the party leaders. - Probably would have garnered about 30-40% of the vote.
Look how that worked out for us.
The GOP is great at supporting RINOs and pro amnesty types such as, lets say, ARLEN SPECTOR, but is no longer convergent with conservative value systems at all.
And that is a shame. Thank you for your post. Happy New Year. - Bill
did see a poll in the paper that has him second in Iowa.
Source? You are holding out on us.
Thompson is looking for an excuse to drop out of the race. No way can he finish second.
He will quit the day after the Caucus.
I can’t believe those pictures. Why do they use them? He looks HORRIBLE in those. My parents are going to be 62 this year (2008) and look thirty years younger than Fred. Look at those eyes. Yieks!!!!
How can a staff of any skills at all allow something like this?
His staff is very young. They are mid twenties and are working on their first official campaign so I doubt they know any better.
Nobody expects him to take Iowa, and almost nobody down here in the South even cares about Iowa or NH.
I was surprised that he even made the trip or spent the money, other than getting tired of the “lazy” tag.
He will take large percentages in the Southern states, and to think that he will drop out before SC isn’t realistic.
The problem is that we don’t have any true conservatives who will run and can win. You need both.
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