Be mindful, they can be poisonous.
Posted on 09/07/2007 1:38:39 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In a stunning move that caught no one by surprise, Fred Thompson announced that ... he's ... running ... for ... president.
Time to step up to the plate, he said.
And everybody hit their snooze buttons.
That Thompson is running for the highest office was a foregone anti-climax after months of testing, consulting, pondering, considering and, most important, letting the other candidates spend their money and exhaust Americans' interest with endless debates in which little new is said or learned.
The debates have become so boilerplate, in fact, that Thompson himself became one of the topics at Wednesday's forum in New Hampshire. Where was Fred?
Fred was chatting it up with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" set, where he made his formal announcement. The other Republican candidates, doubtless weary from the previous 200 debates, took turns taking shots at Thompson.
Rudy Giuliani got off the best line, saying that he likes Thompson and thinks he's done a "pretty good job of playing my part on 'Law & Order.' I personally prefer the real thing."
The unflappable Thompson was in character when Leno asked him what he thought of the criticism. "It's a lot more difficult to get on 'The Tonight Show' than it is to get into a presidential debate," he deadpanned.
Despite criticism that Thompson played the Hollywood card by going on Leno's show, he was able to make some serious points about Iraq (stay until the country is stable), and complete his thoughts in paragraphs without interruption.
On important matters, Thompson is as serious as the DA he plays on television. And just as direct, as when he described Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "a fellow who is not put together well upstairs running the country." As president, Thompson might have to be more diplomatic, but such frank talk is refreshing when most public figures are measuring their words with espresso spoons.
Thompson prompted applause when he answered Leno's question about why the U.S. isn't more popular with other countries. "What are we doing wrong?" Leno asked.
Powerful countries tend to attract envy and resentment, Thompson began. That's the price of being the biggest, strongest nation in the world. A 6-foot-6 man like Thompson might know something about that. But then he shifted focus from what we've done wrong to what we've done right:
"Our people have shed more blood for the liberty and freedom of other peoples ... than all the other countries put together. (Applause.) And I don't feel any need to apologize for the United States of America."
There's still much to know about this latest addition to the White House race, but as first impressions go, Thompson has at least two things going for him: He's utterly lacking in hubris -- or so it seems -- and he can communicate. If presidents are elected in reaction to the previous officeholder, that's a strong hand.
It is also impossible to picture Thompson as a cheerleader.
Whether he can get nominated is another question, but he already holds the No. 2 slot in the polls behind Giuliani. On the Internet, Thompson's Web site (ImWithFred) had the most unique visitors in July among the Republican candidates, according to a new Nielsen report. Barack Obama leads all the candidates in Web traffic.
Whatever happens next, Thompson at least gave commentators something new to talk about. Was it a mistake to go on Leno instead of the debate, they wondered? And, did he sign on too late, they speculated? Is he a team player?
Thompson must have chuckled all the way to Iowa. Too late for what? Most Americans still don't know who's running and don't share the punditry's obsession with quantifying who's up and who's down every 24-hour cycle. If they're watching television, they're more likely watching Leno, who averaged 5.9 million viewers in 2006, instead of the presidential debates, which tend to draw between 1 million and 2 million viewers, according to Variety.
By setting himself apart from the gaggle and having a one-on-one chat with 6 million Americans, Thompson messed up the political ecosystem. In a single well-timed appearance, he made up for a late start and got exposure and buzz. And it didn't cost him a dime.
Some mistake.
It just like the world leaders celebrating the millennium a year early ... why?
Be mindful, they can be poisonous.
Plaque on Ronald Reagan’s desk:
“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
You are right by half and wrong by half.
The extended primary season is/will probably benefit Hillary, but I believe it was not exactly created FOR Hillary alone.
The Dimorats have taken the lead in two things this election season - the extended primary season itself and a huge increase in the number of so-called "debates" - and the two things are related to each other. But, their purpose is that they are both related to the Dimorats main propaganda providers - the LameStreamMedia. The extended primary season in general and the well publicized and televised "debates", almost weekly, allow the Dim's friends in the LameStreamMedia the means and the cover for their free and constant play-by-play daily repetition of the Dims talking points as "news". The sheeple are induced to be mentally "in tune" with the Dim's template of "issues" and promises by their mantra-like daily repetition for more than a year before anyone votes. They and their media executive friends are "framing" the issues (reinforcing the leftist context in which the issues MUST be viewed), helping to keep the sheeple's political thinking locked in that frame (box).
The Dims and the LameStreamMedia, working together, are to the American political process the equivalent of those who - with great intelligence, insight and cunning, together with perverse goals - create suicide bombers; people who no longer can think for themselves; people who are conditioned to simply follow, like lemmings to the sea.
"Whatever happens next, Thompson at least gave commentators something new to talk about. Was it a mistake to go on Leno instead of the debate, they wondered? And, did he sign on too late, they speculated? Is he a team player?
Thompson must have chuckled all the way to Iowa. Too late for what? Most Americans still don't know who's running and don't share the punditry's obsession with quantifying who's up and who's down every 24-hour cycle. If they're watching television, they're more likely watching Leno, who averaged 5.9 million viewers in 2006, instead of the presidential debates, which tend to draw between 1 million and 2 million viewers, according to Variety."
I might be wrong, but it seems that Fred has gotten more press by NOT announcing (till Leno) than the rest have gotten by spending MILLIONS...
Seems like a plan to me.
Check out www.fredthompson.cc
Good article by Kathleen. It’s true, most Americans aren’t watching the debates or thinking about the election now. Fred got more free attention on Jay Leno than he ever would have gotten in the completely unmemorable debate.
That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
You really think Fred Thompson is eagerly investigating Duncan Hunter’s “style” so he can also be reduced in the polls to 1%?
I bet somebody else somewhere has said that before. Hunter must have stolen it from that person.
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Great article.
>>>That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
What is?
>>>You really think Fred Thompson is eagerly investigating Duncan Hunter’s “style” so he can also be reduced in the polls to 1%?
Copy and paste where I said any such thing.
You know why Fred’s version is better? Because he doesn’t get mired down in the minutia of exact numbers and so many meaningless details.
That’s the difference between a leader and a go-to guy that a leader hires to do a job. Duncan Hunter is a doer, not a leader. He’s a very good doer and a good man, but he’s not a president. He simply doesn’t have it in him.
>>>so many meaningless details.
Yes, our brave men would be meaningless to you.
I didn’t see you do that, but others have put forth that (rather ridiculous) notion.
Good Lord. You people are moonbats.
Then the comments should be directed appropriately.
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I like Hunter, but he simply has not created the momentum he needs this time around. I don't know if he has it in him, but he has too little name-recognition for a national election at this point. I hope he runs again in eight years.
Well, let’s clear it up. Just what was your purpose in posting something from Duncan Hunter on a Fred Thompson thread?
Is it just that your candidate is so pathetic that you need to advertise him on Fred Thompson threads where the traffic is, or is there some other reason? Because if you were implying that Fred is imitating a candidate that is polling at .5%, we should get that out on the table now.
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