[SuziQ]

The reality is - a lackluster Republican will fail when pitted against a charismatic Democrat.

YOU may think Fred is lackluster; I don't. I think he has reasoned arguments for his positions, and can spell those out to the voters when the time comes. He's already doing that to Republicans; it's those who have rejected him from the get go, because they already had favorite candidates, who are the most vocal here. I don't confuse FR with the real world.

And if Fred is the Republican nominee with Her Heinous as the Democrat, I think Fred will wipe the floor with her. She is NOT dynamic, by any stretch of the imagination. Just having the two of them on a stage together speaking to the American people will show folks that they won't want to listen to her haranguing them for the next four years.

[mission9]

It is not only my opinion that Fred is lackluster. Any objective person watching him speak will come to that same conclusion, as many credible observers have. Have you ever seen Fred in person, on-stage, speaking in a format in which he can be compared to anyone else?
On FR conservative credentials are paramount, in the real world, charisma trumps conservatism. I don’t like this fact anymore than you do, however exhausting myself in a losing effort to retain my conservative bona fides is an exercise in futile vanity. That is why George Bush Sr. lost to Bill Clinton in 1992. Would you like to repeat that mistake again?

[cajungirl]

Back to Fred. I had thought he looked sort of sickly after seeing clips on the news.

But he did well on Russert and there is something quite stable and sturdy about him. No great drama, no sense he is waffling and dodging, no packaging.

I think he is a good candidate and one who would wear well.