Posted on 01/05/2008 9:05:25 AM PST by pissant
Manchester (NH): Fred Thompson spent most of caucus night in Iowa hovering between third and fourth place -- a far cry from the lofty first-place position he held in Rasmussen's poll of likely Republican caucus-goers last June. It has been a long time since Thompson has made a compelling reason to be in this race. And it should be a very short time before he confesses a compelling reason to exit stage right. A bystander in his own race, Thompson's political what-could-have-been slipped through his fingers long before he announced his candidacy. “The process for running for president has begun so early,” says GOP political strategist Charlie Gerow, “that if you are not in the game, you are not in the game … and Fred Thompson was never in the game.” Larry Sabato, who directs the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, says “the biggest loser of 2008 is already known: Fred Thompson. The biggest pre-candidacy buildup since Ted Kennedy in the 1980 cycle has led to the same result -- a failure to come close to fulfilling his high expectations.” The short story of Fred Thompson started just about a year ago at the conservative love-fest known as the Conservative Political Action Convention, or CPAC. There, hints of a Thompson hat-toss began. By late spring, he was all the rage. He hit his high note with a clever video smacking down docudrama king Michael Moore. Suddenly, the political and media worlds could not get enough of Fred. It was his shining moment -- except that Fred forgot to shine. Summer came and went. So did a whole lot of staff and a whole lot of opportunities.
His eventual announcement in September came with a hefty price tag -- the Republican Primary voters in New Hampshire. He chose to announce on Jay Leno’s show, bypassing the first New Hampshire debate the same evening.
“He was an attractive idea, an image, and the reality couldn’t match it,” Sabato says. “This may be the fate of anyone touted as the next Reagan. Reagan is no longer a man. He’s a myth. No living human being can fulfill those expectations.”
“My opinion of what happened to Fred Thompson is that he turned out to be ... Fred Thompson,” adds Matt Lebo, political science professor at New York’s Stony Brook University.
“I don't think it’s just his late entry -- that is just a symptom of the problem,” Lebo says. “The problem is that he has never shown a willingness to fight for conservative causes. Believing in those causes isn't enough. There should be some evidence that you are willing to do something about it.”
While comparisons have been made to the failed 2004 campaign of Wesley Clark, those may not be fair. Clark was a political novice; Thompson is not.
So why did Thompson go wrong?
“I think he was expecting to ride in, pick up the bouquet, and that would be that,” says Bert A. Rockman, head of the political science department at Purdue University. “It doesn’t work that way.
“People confuse appearance with reality. Thompson played hard-as-nails authority figures on TV and in the movies. But his campaign had no distinctiveness, no comparative advantage.”
Somehow, someone must have convinced Thompson that times had changed and he could run a different kind of campaign, one that suited his low-key approach to politics. A campaign sans rubber-chicken dinners, moldy bus tours and all the other degrading aspects of running for president.
Tack on the misconceptions that tens of millions of dollars were waiting for him, that he could easily round up organizational support -- and that pretty much sums up why the promise of Fred never happened.
As the country shifts its gaze toward New Hampshire, Thompson stands to fare even worse here than he did in Iowa. As of Friday morning, he was polling sixth among likely Republican voters.
So, the near-term question for Fred Thompson isn't if he drops out of the race but when.
I remember senator Fred well. Full time Politics wasn't his cup of tea then and it isn't now. He's a good lawyer, would have made a great state level Attorney General, and is a good actor. But he was pathetic as a pathetic elected offical when it came down too getting the job done much like Bill Frist. BTW Tennessee has a far better Conservative how about a Hunter/Duncan ticket :>}
Here in NW NJ I have seen a total of 6 RuPaul signs. Two in one yard on the NJ/PA border and two in another yard in NJ about a mile away. The others have been placed on I-80 overpasses. They must be his relatives...
Other than that, I haven’t seen anyone else’s signs, other than Hillary bumper stickers on Subaru’s & Volvo’s. Our primary is Feb. 5th.
Yea I did to. But Dole was an entirely different matter. He built a career as a Conservative then went to the Convention dressed up as a LIBERAL and filled the speaker positions with the same. That cost him the election. Just like Poppy except Poppy Bush was always a Liberal though and made no pretense otherwise. Poppy would have been a shoe in second termer but he too insisted on being Liberal Lite. Republicans in denial about Poppy's betrayal of the Reagan Legacy still like to blame Perot.
Perhaps you should ask my wife...
or my students...
or coworkers,
or other family members...
Or almost everyone who drives on I-20/55 in Jackson between 7:30 and 8:00 AM...
No wait, I think they call me SOB, and I must be the best since they keep sticking a single finger up at me as I blow by...
You can find dirt on anyone at a competitors web site these so called facts seem to always have a reasonable explanation.
Speaking of reading comprehension...
“Goodbye Fred”...
I’m sitting here wondering who is Selena Zito, and where is she going? ; )
The name says it all......pissant. Where’s the damn bug spray?
Does the author have ties to FoxNews? This piece is typical of Fox anti-Fred jihad tripe.
Giuliani came in 6th place and Ron Paul had 2 1/2 time as mzny votes as he did, but Giuliani is still doing okay.
I am thinking some place warm, very, very warm.
I know I would like her to go there...
I sure hope not! BTW, long time no see.
I do not know, but she is a freeper.
Which part(s) of it are not?
Even now, Fred Thompson remains a contender. His biggest strength now is that he's the top tier candidate least likely to make large segments of the base leave the party. Rudy Giuliani's stances on guns, abortion, and homosexuality could cause many core Republicans to stay home. John McCain's "gang of 14" and similar activities over his career will likewise cause some Republicans to stay home. Mitt Romney's being a Mormon may be a problem for him, and Mike Huckabee's being a preacher may alienate a different part of the base. Personally, I think Fred Thompson should have most of the same problems that John McCain has because they were so close in the Senate, but those issues haven't stuck to Mr. Thompson as badly.
Fred Thompson's other big problem right now is that he's been cast as a regional candidate. His saying on national TV that he's really looking to South Carolina only reinforces that perception. If he doesn't overcome that image, then he'll need to look for his opportunity to exit the race.
Bill
Do you happen to know the reasonable explanation for any of the points on the flyer?
This thing is moving a lot faster than most people realize. By a month from now, 55% of the delegates to the national convention will be pledged.
Fred can probably hang on until South Carolina, but he must win there in order to continue. I believe Duncan Hunter will suspend his campaign sometime in the next 100 hours.
Being lazy and disinterested isn’t as charming as it used to be.
LOL!
You’re Number 1!
OK, I'l type this really slowly so you can understand what I'm saying:
1) You in post 43:
I was thinking along the same lines. The man said he didn't want the job so why should I vote for him?2) When challenged on that claim, you started to defend it in posts 78 and 93:
78 And the point is -- Fred said that!2) In post 117, you post Fred's exact words:93 Thompson NEVER said any such thing.
Are you serious? Sure he did! He said that he wasn't particularly interested in becoming the POTUS at the townhall meetings in Iowa last week.
Dude! Don't get mad at me! The man actually said "I'm not particularly interested in running for president.3) You then somehow claim that this quote supports your original claim. (Another hint: It doesn't.)The question is: are you in denial or trying to rewrite history?
127 Everybody needs to stop trying to convince me what Fred "really" said. Either he made a BIG mistake which showed in the Iowa caucus or he was babbling. I'm not the only one who took his words literally...
You're not taking his words literally. Either you're misrepresenting them deliberately and disingenously or your reading comprehension is quite poor.
Sure! Go here.
http://www.fred08.com/
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