Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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Posted on 07/28/2007 10:16:08 PM PDT by SmithL
The worst advice I gave during 20 years advising Republican presidential and congressional campaigns was telling Fred Thompson not to do the pick-up truck.
Fred had the good sense to ignore my advice — I’d like to think the only bad advice I gave him in two campaigns.
In spring of 1994, Fred badly trailed a popular Democratic congressman in the open Tennessee Senate seat vacated by Vice President Gore. Our fundraising lagged behind, and I had just fired our second campaign manager. We beefed up our communications effort and got to the key task of reassuring major donors and prospects. But there was another problem. Fred had a powerful message, and his performance was solid but unexceptional. Not what we expected, given his communications skills.
Fred simply wasn’t comfortable on the campaign trail, and it showed. His demeanor was blunting the power of his message of congressional reform. He recognized the problem and proposed a solution: He would shuck the power suits and the sanitized campaign van and travel the state in a pick-up truck, without altering his message.
Too clever, I said. Too much of a gimmick.
Despairing of the situation, Fred sent a former adviser to governor (now senator) Lamar Alexander, Tom Ingram, to see me. Tom, one of the shrewdest pols I have ever known, argued there was nothing to lose and finally persuaded me to go along with the idea of the truck.
Fred’s performance soared immediately.
We unveiled the truck on primary day and shortly thereafter went on statewide television. The Democrats focused their attacks on the truck as a ploy and allowed us to stay on message. The campaign turned around overnight.
Fred hit the road and left his campaign alone to do its work. I have had candidates who would drive me insane on insignificant details and miss the big picture. Fred was an ideal candidate; we spoke briefly daily, reviewed polling data and went off to do our jobs.
Reviewing new survey data nearly two months before Election Day, I could see our message — Fred talking directly to voters via television spots — was having an enormous impact. Many voters still didn’t know Fred, but those who did chose him by a wide margin. I knew then, short of a catastrophe, we were going to get a big win.
Fred’s debate performance was excellent; he was outstanding on the campaign trail, and hundreds showed up at Red Truck Tour stops across rural Tennessee. The least experienced statewide candidate I ever advised was also easily the best — in his first political campaign.
Fred got more votes than any Republican in Tennessee ever had; his midterm total actually surpassed Ronald Reagan’s landslide win in 1984.
The late wave which swept Republicans into congressional control obscured the significance of Fred’s win. Absent the wave, he would have won a landslide in a nondecisive year and vaulted to political superstardom. But soon to be majority leader Bob Dole asked Fred (sworn in immediately to fill Gore’s unexpired term) to provide the Republican response to a nationally televised speech by President Clinton. Fred drove to Washington, in the truck, of course, and burst onto the national political scene.
Working with Fred in 1994 and his 1996 reelection campaign and working in Republican presidential campaigns from 1980-1996, I can make some pretty definitive statements about what Fred will bring to the presidential campaign:
Fred ran in 1994 to make a difference, a cliché but also a truth. He gave up a lucrative and comfortable life in law and character roles in Hollywood to join the Washington rat race. It was a big sacrifice. He’s not running because he needs to be president; it’s a cause to him. That’s powerful motivation.
He’s an intellectual conservative who will please the party faithful but whose folksy style and maverick impulses (like supporting the McCain-Feingold so-called campaign finance reform) soften his image, an invaluable general election quality.
His experience during the Watergate hearings and the Tennessee pardons and parole scandal later in the ’70s established him as a committed reformer.
He’ll run an unconventional campaign: Experts and journalists who jump to negative conclusions about his campaign’s tactics while ignoring his campaign’s substance do so at their peril. Just ask Tennessee U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, his ’94 opponent.
While he has only won two elections, he came back from being written off in his first race. He will not blow people away every day but will wear well over time. He learned in the courtroom and in movies that his performance at critical junctures is far more important that a heavy schedule. Some say this shows Fred lacks energy. I used to hear the same thing about Ronald Reagan.
Fred isn’t Superman. His style has some similarities to President Reagan, but he hasn’t been around as long and proven himself as much. He needs a solid team with national campaign experience to craft strategy, do the planning and execute the myriad tasks such a large undertaking entails. He does have a Senate voting record, which will be scrutinized, and like all first time presidential candidates, he faces a challenging vetting process. He has no national campaign experience and hasn’t been through that large-scale rough and tumble.
But he has been tested: In the darkest hours of his political career, when the wheels were about to come off his first campaign, he figured out how to scoop them up, put them on a red truck and drive off into the sunset.
It was classic Hollywood — a happy ending. I hear they are planning a sequel.
I think Thompson makes a great candidate thus far. If we can get past the single issue voters (yes the “Abortion is all that counts” types) we just might have the best small government guy out there in Thompson.
I still reserve judgment until he makes his full case, but so far I like what he has said.
One thing for sure...if it’s Hillary v Fred we will have a VERY clear choice to make in choosing the direction we’re going.
That is a for SURE thing!
Vote for an American or a Marxist? Which one would YOU rather?
I’d call that a solid conservative agenda for 2008.
ping
Between his over educated and accomplished bossy trophy wife, his pro Islamic and open boarders rants, his stance on wanting all 12 million Mexicans to not only stay here, but fire you and give them your job, yes, the one you are doing right now, the fact that not only does he support abortion openly, but regrets not going to medical school so he could be an abortion doctor, the fact that he is suckering in all his supporters with his delayed entry, which of course also displays his indecisiveness, his lazy do nothing never has accomplished anything life style, and don’t forget to add that he was only a senator, but one who personally let Clinton off the hook, and then flew to China to personally build their missile and space program, by hand of course, but only after he was a mole for Nixon. I am sorry, he doesn’t stand a chance.
Let’s face it, by tomorrow morning he will be a 1 maybe 2 percent in the polls, and only that due to 26 passed out frat boys who’s last word’s last night were “Yo Fred”.
You guys are really was your time and band width...
I note that the article said that the opposition focused on the red truck and ignored the things he was saying, his positions. That is sort of happening now, they’re looking at stuff like criticizing his wife and guessing about campaign staff and why hasn’t he declared yet, and ignoring the things he says about policy. His writings and radio commentaries seem to be only noticed by supporters. I hope history repeats itself and the opposition is blindsided by the style and ignores his substance.
I’ve just been reading the Peter Paul lawsuit from 2004 that he filed against the Clinton gang. MAN! The audicity, the lying and stealing...are really no big deal to them. They really ripped Peter Paul off and apparently thought nothing of it. Hillary really is a misanthrope. The more I read about her the worse it gets. From what I see they at least owe Paul 1.9 million back because due to election law the candidate has to return money over the legal limit. Instead they only gave him 2k back. They said that lying about their taking Paul’s money was their “media strategy”.
To me it’s a great failure of W to let these people off and we’re going to pay for him doing his duty for a long long time.
Ditch the fancy jets, and make the Media ride in uncomfortable Greyhound chartered buses following the Red Truck across Fly-over Country.
THEY WILL HATE HIM FOR IT.
But the folks will love it.
Oops,
“we’re going to have to pay for W NOT doing his duty for a long time.”
Here's hoping they keep it up!
Something of which you'll never be accused.
If you wish it hard enough maybe it will come true.....Thanks for playing, please try again....hehe
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
WARNING: If you wish to join this ping list please be aware that it is EXTREMELY active.
However your perception is correct, I have to lose the college degree and a few IQ points to play a typical Fred Basher...
Weren't we enjoying the “Creation Scientist” bit the other day?
CUT THAT OUT!!
The veins in my neck were starting to bulge before I got to the third sentence, then I checked to see who I was going to blast and VOILA!!, there you were. :p
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