Thompson was more animated than I have ever seen him. That is the good part, but to be honest I was disappointed in him.
Fred Thompson always projected the aura of “Elder-Statesman” to me (Kind of a Ben Franklin-type or any other person of “perceived authority”).
Last night, he came across as weak to me.
Not that his attack was weak, but because he felt the need to attack. (in this case Huckabee)
He is saying “The only way for me to win is to make Huckabee weaker”. By the end of the debate, it was becoming old, because it looked like his entire message was “Huckabee = bad”. He wasted time on Huckabee, when he should have been talking about his own record/position, since up to now nobody had ever heard it (from him). If he had stopped after the first couple of Huckabee attacks, he would have been better, and left Huckabee worse. (NOTE: I say this as a Huckabee supporter)
He did himself no favors, except to enthuse the people that were supporting him anyway.
That’s my opinion; others may differ
Huckabee has been passing himself off as something he is not and in the process taking votes that would normally go to Fred. If Fred did not expose Huckabee's statements and former positions no one would.
I thought Fred did great and forced Huckabee to defend his positions and thats part of the game of politics.
Huckabee and McCain give generalities and when confronted on former votes or former statements they tend to have nothing to fall back on but accusations of negative campaigning.
Huckabee and McCain looked bad tonight. Its good for Huck to taste the real fire because if he can't get through Republican attacks how will he withstand the Clinton machine that know him so well.
I also agree with your tagline.
That’s my opinion; others may differ
I beg to differ with you. I was in the audience at the debate last night sitting next to an "undecided" who really wasn't leaning toward Fred and after the debate asked me how she could get more involved in helping to elect Fred. She, among others, sitting near me were totally impressed with Fred.
I fear that whereas we want to see more fire from Thompson fire as attack of Huckerbee may not be the tactics needed or sway undecided voters certainly not in the general election.
Having said that I still feel that this far by his best performance and probably enough to keep him in till super Tuesday after which anything could happen.
Maybe he can show he is strong by holding a press conference at which he plays an attack ad he says he has decided not to air. /s
I've suggested on other threads that if Fred looked like Mitt, he'd have run away with this nomination a long time ago. I regret that fact in the greater electorate, but it is a real shame that it is strongly here at FR too. You would think the posters to the world's best conservative online site wouldn't be so impressed by bright shiny things.
I'm going to agree with you here in that I also think Fred does just fine without the aggressiveness. But I blame the "he has no fire in the belly" crowd for forcing Fred to being more of attack dog than he has been.
Note to everyone who thinks I'm disparaging Fred here. He's been my guy since day 1. I can't understand how any conseravive could think otherwise. I also think Duncan Hunter is a great man but he's just not presidential material. Fred Thompson is a natural.
Good republicans of South Carolina, do the right thing. Shock the political world. I'm begging you.
Any party that has either McCain or Huckabee as its front runners isn’t necessarily one that can be appealed to rationally.
Fred feels the need to do what he did last night because they are picking candidates with their hearts and not their heads.
It was a great night for Fred, which debate where you watching?
He was saying, I thought, that the people are being sold a bill of goods about Mike Huckabee, and many have lined up at the counter not fully informed about who he is as a politician. It was time for an inventory check.
lol
Exposing the perfidy of a pastor is not only (in this case) good politics but a moral necessity—call it causing a Jim Bakker BS backlash—named for the last mendacious preacher exposed in our state.Word is out about the “devout” who is a lying lout.
But even if Fred gets the born-agains of SC to see Huck for the fraud he is McCain may still win our state with more help from the left than usual.And here’s how.
Normally the Dems and Repubs hold their primaries in SC on the same day.I would go to my polling place (a nearby RFD) and the candidates of both parties would be in the machines.
I have voted GOP ever since Carter in ‘76 (my bad)except the year W was running unopposed for re-election.I voted for Lieberman then just in case W lost (Joe lost of course and got on JF’nK’s ticket).
This year the GOP primary is next Saturday and the Dems over a week later.If Hillary decides Obama is going to win SC (remember,next to Mississippi,we have the largest,as a percentage,black population in America),she will have all her people vote next Saturday for McCain or Huck depending on who needs the most help.Then she will publicaly call on her SC supporters (what few left that haven’t voted yet at any rate) to vote for Obama as a goodwill gesture for all the racial insensitivity she and her husband have displayed recently.
Ain’t it amazing how wildly speculative you can get with the Clintons and still remain credible?