“Why all the angst and anxiety about Thompson’s behavior here?”
Not angst and anxiety but just wondering why you think it’s fair for the other hard-working dedicated GOP candidates to be out there campaigning their hearts out while Fred T sits around twiddling his thumbs, making a few appearances, giving a few speeches, etc., and AVOIDING all the hard stuff.
I think it stinks. Poop or get off the pot! I don’t think it’s fair to the other candidates. What on earth is Fred T waiting for? The other shoe to drop? It’s dang irritating and I feel like he’s just playing around.
If Fred T were a serious candidates - if his heart were really in it - would he be acting like this? Heck no!
Romney has been there all these months dedicating himself to the campaign and I respect him for it and Romney’s family is behind him 100%. Romney is gathering votes and respect the old fashioned way - he’s earning them. Go, Mitt!!
What you are saying sounds like someone who complains because their team may have had the best record in baseball for any given year, but then they lose the World Series that year...it is as if their fans, think that they ‘deserve’ to win the World Series because of their record...well, things dont work that way....
Just because some of the other candidates are out there, and campaigning, that does not somehow make them more deserving...they have chosen to be out there, Fred has not...none of the other candidates was forced by anyone to be out there campaigning....they have all done it voluntarily....so I dont see what your particular beef is...
The other candidates could have taken the route that Fred is taking, but they have chosen not to....they have chosen to be out there, Fred has chosen to wait...
I am with a lot of others...this beginning to campaign so early, is really getting to burn me out as well....if Fred wants to wait, I am patient enough to wait as well, and see what he has to say...
But this is not a contest, where someone deserves to get the nomination, because he did more work, or was out there earlier...if people dont like what Mitt Romney has to say, then regardless of when he did or did not begin campaigning, they wont vote for him....if they like what Fred has to say, then they wont care that he joined the campaign trail, in back of the others...
I just dont see what it is, that is bothering you...it frankly makes no sense to me at all...I am patient, I can wait for any and all candidates to make their announcements when THEY are ready to do so, and not when someone else thinks they should do so...
I don’t think that there is any “rule book” for how to run a political campaign. It seems to me that the best way to run it is the most effective and efficient way. Right now, it appears that Thompson (following advice I first heard suggested by Gingrich well over six months ago) has been slowly garnering support and avoiding the “voter fatigue” that is predictably going to affect people by not announcing early.
Only folks like you and I pay ANY real attention to presidential elections earlier than September or October. Most never vote in primaries, and those who do usually don’t pay attention until a few weeks before their primary. Gingrich and Thompson realized this, and have tuned their strategy to “letting the other fighters beat themselves to a bloody pulp”, and then they’ll take on the remaining, probably weakened, candidates. (I don’t think Mr.Newt will decide to run.)
This may not fit your definition of “fair”, but this is political “war”, and you know that anything is fair in war. And, by the way, though I’ve not spent a great deal of effort in comparing positions, etc, and won’t until October or so -— right now I am just as inclined to support Mitt as I am Fred. I really think that most of the candidates were following poor advice by starting their campaigns way, way too early. (Dick Morris bashers around here will certainly agree with me about this - as he has been pushing the “get in early” line... the “full employment for political advisors strategy”)
As far as whether “his heart is in it” ... I really am not enamoured of having a president whose lifelong dream was being president, and I believe that Thompson fits into the category of only running for president if he believes there is a problem with other candidates. Right now, it appears that Mitt’s major defect is being a likely problem with beating Hitlery due to real problems with some Christian voters due to his religion. I wish that weren’t the case, and I couldn’t disagree with them more strongly, but it certainly seems the case. Others in the GOP field have their defects as well.
I have no problems with Thompson, Gingrich, or John Swanson waiting until October or even December to announce their intentions of competing in the GOP primaries.