Talk about poll driven sheep. What about supporting the guy you believe would be the best man for job and not be worried about not picking the winner?
Remember Howard Dean's poll numbers 4 years ago today?
“What about supporting the guy you believe would be the best man for job and not be worried about not picking the winner?”
Who says we think Thompson is the best man for the job?
Winning is the first part of "the job," and some people run like they want to win and some people don't. Romney runs like someone who wants to win. So does Rudy. So does Huckabee. So does Paul, fergawdsakes, even though he won't.
Duncan Hunter? He's got the conservative bonafides, but he was the first Republican to announce and STILL hasn't gained traction. Monday, I saw him on O'Reilly with Laura Ingraham talking about why Bush should pardon Ramos and Compean, and it struck me -- he's still in legislator mode. Humility is an admirable trait, but a Presidential candidate has to display a willingness to transmit the message, "Nobody can run this nation better than I can."
As for Fred Thompson: He reminds me of one of those Hollywood blockbuster movies for which they start with billboards, trailers, merchandise, and TV commercials months in advance. It looks REALLY cool, and you're counting down the days until you can see it. Finally, the day arrives, you go to the theater, and discover that ALL the good parts of the movie were in the previews. (I'm still smarting from Star Wars Episode II: Revenge of the Clones).
Don't slough the critics off, Fredheads. People were expecting to see him stride into a room crowded with GOP wannabes and suck all the air out of it. Instead, he zipped past supporters on a golf cart, he asked for applause when a speech fell flat, and he sometimes seems lost without a script. The GOP hierarchy and FNC may be salivating for Giuliani, and the MSM fears he will rally conservatives, but face it: Fred's wounds are mostly self-inflicted. These were mistakes that Huckabee didn't make when people were making fun of his name and suggesting that Bill Clinton had ruined Arkansas as a source of GOP candidates.
I would venture to guess most of us have at least once worked with a manager who knows how to lead even if s/he doesn't have the perfect qualifications, and also a manager who knows everything there is to know, but isn't a leader. Successful businesses require face-to-face interviews rather than hiring blindly on the basis of resumes because they want to be moved by a prospective applicant. We -- the electorate -- are the bosses, and the campaign is the time we set aside the resume, look the guy in the eye, and say, what do YOU have to offer the company?
This is the wrong response.