I'm IN!..........
Posted on 09/05/2007 8:36:54 PM PDT by Red Badger
At 7:57 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for broadcast later in the evening, Fred Thompson finally said: "I'm running for president of the United States."
The studio audience responded with thunderous applause.
Thompson rejected the notion that he has waited too long to get into the race for the White House.
"People treat politicians sort of like the dentist -- they don't have anything to do with them till they have to," he said.
"A lot of people have been, of course, running for some time. Everybody kind of changed the rules.
" Usually you don't announce until after Labor Day, but they started running a lot earlier, spending millions of dollars and so forth, and everyone said that you couldn't run this year without raising a hundred million dollars and starting much earlier. I don't believe that," Thompson said, adding that he doubts voters will say: "That guy would make a very good president, but he didn't get in soon enough."
Leno joked with Thompson about how long he has been "testing the waters," asking: "Are you starting to get a little wrinkly?"
"These wrinkles don't come from the water," Thompson, 65, replied, to laughter. Referring to a guest announcement Leno made just before the segment, he joked: "I've been mistaken for Dr. Phil."
The "Law & Order" actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee plans to begin an announcement tour in Iowa on Thursday.
Aides said Thompson will travel in a bus emblazoned with the slogan, "United in Our Core Beliefs," along with the key themes of "security," "unity" and "prosperity."
A key adviser said the two biggest issues motivating Thompson are "Islamic radicalism and the threat of terrorism reaching our shores," and a sense that "politics has broken down in the domestic arena, too."
Thompson plans to announce some politically dicey policies, including a plan to overhaul a system of entitlements -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- that some experts argue is not financially sustainable.
The former senator joins a field where the candidates, led by Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, have been scrapping for months. In a decision that drew complaints from some activists, he skipped Wednesday night's debate at the University of New Hampshire for the Leno appearance.
Hitting airwaves
Thompson's campaign is running an ad during the debate, being carried by Fox News Channel.
In the spot, the candidate says: "We can't allow ourselves to become a weaker, less prosperous and more divided nation. Today, as before, the fate of millions across the world depends on the unity and resolve of the American people."
The commercial was taped this weekend in the office of Thompson's home in McLean, Va.
Thompson seemed excited about finally launching a race that he said began "around the kitchen table in late March," telling Leno: "It starts right here."
The folksy Southerner is supplementing his Leno appearance, and previewing his Iowa kickoff, with a 15-minute announcement video on his Web site, www.Fred08.com.
Thompson has not raised money at the clip that some of his early advisers had suggested he would, but he has come in first or second place in several state polls.
His campaign, based in Nashville and Northern Virginia, has undergone several shakeups that have produced bad publicity, but his backers contend everything until now has been pre-season.
"I think the ship is righting itself," one adviser said in an e-mail.
"If the public responds and he has a good fund-raising month, he's in business. The staff turmoil is clearly out of the ordinary and disturbing, but the campaign now has the team it wants, and they'll be able to work together. We will know soon enough how well the stuff in front of the curtain plays."
After the Iowa events, he'll head on to New Hampshire, then down to South Carolina next week and on to Florida. He's also debuting a 30-second ad with a title that says it all: "I'm In."
I'm IN!..........
Making the announcement on a comedy show...
Fair enough.
There’s something not just right about announcing your run for the very important position as the leader of the free world on the Tonight Show.
Nothing like nationwide coverage! And it didn’t cost him a dime!.............pretty smart.......
Give it a rest. Precious Willard the Destroyer’s dreams die tonight. Makes you want to smile. :-)
“Making the announcement on a comedy show...”
Talk show as well.
Cheap, Free, guaranteed nationwide audience, what’s not to like?.........
“www.Fred08.com” is crashing as I write this... the hit count must be through the stratosphere.
The ‘net is going into meltdown...........
Paulistinian hackers.
He announced it on a television talk show? LOL!
Arkancide Jihadists.......
May I add one word: 'the threat of terrorism reaching our shores AGAIN'.
Say goodbye to RP.
And so, everyone who projects their opinions onto Thompson, without actually knowing (or caring) what Thompson believes, rejoice.
Good night all!.....I can finally sleep well..........
Well it's not MY fault.
Goodbye, RiP........
Whooooot!! GO FRED!!!
I hope not, the laughs will be missed...
"So it begins..."
It’s magic time.
RIP, Romney. Go lay down in the plot you buried the MA GOP in.
I agree. I think it should have been done with some sort of historic building or site in the background. That’s about my only complaint with Fred. I think the Tonight Show “cheapened his announcement.” But...what do I know? Maybe he was looking for a larger audience.
Just saw the webcast at www.imwithfred.com
Amazing!!! He rocks!
Would Lincoln have announced on a talk show? No. But this is 2007 where more people watch Leno in one night than C-Span in six months. So don’t you go where the people are?
If I remind folks that Arnold announced on the Tonight Show they will of course think that means Fred is like Arnold.
I think Thompson is playing this exactly right. Doing things differently. He will talk about his beliefs in the weeks and months ahead but putting national security at the top is a very smart move. In the long run when running against Clinton this will be the issue.
Thompson’s belief that America should be defended versus the Clinton view that America is a flawed country no different than Cuba whose people can be tricked and lied to and the national treasure robbed, our secrets sold and our virtues crapped upon.
I will go with Fred if that is the choice in November 2008 and I would hope everyone on this site would do the same. The alternative of jihad in America and a socialist economy is simply too horrible to contemplate.
Yeah, Massachusetts was a Republican-dominated state until Mitt came along and ruined it.
Site works fine for me, no problems.
For the first time since 1856 (the first official year the GOP ran candidates), no Republican won a single solitary federal or statewide office in 2006 in Massachusetts, and shrunk to the lowest percentage in the legislature (barely above 10%) in the history of the party. Romney jumped ship, he cut and run from his responsibilities, and deliberately and let it sink.
Romney’s gross incompetence will not be rewarded.
Precious can go lay down in the plot.
A grown up has finally arrived to save the republic.
It’s magic time.
Get on the Fred train. :-)
Would Lincoln drive a red pickup truck, become a movie star and fly from New York to Los Angeles?
Viewed by many, many more people than watched the debate tonight.
Fred done good! We’re rolling!
And he’s gonna roll right over the Rudy McRomney termites.
Just saw the video on Fred’s website. It was terrific!!
Nah, we've just been paying attention to him for the last few months. Anyone who doesn't know where he stands on a particular issue just hasn't taken the time to find out.
Thanks =o)
Lincoln did let himself be talked of as a rail splitter and had his major address planted in newspapers. If a red truck existed then he may have driven it I don’t know.
Your alternative to Fred would be? And where did this person announce from?
Yes...I have seen the winner of the Republican Primaries. New Hampshire will change their opinion...watch and see. This country needs a different kind of leader. Fred is no Reagan...and is not trying to be. Fred is Fred and that will be the winning asset.
Duncan Hunter.
And where did this person announce from?
The basement.
I know I like what Fred believes more than I like what Mitt and Rudy believe.
The website is getting pounded by traffic, bound to be slow.
Mitt ruined his run tonight... totally unprepared on Iraq... or pandering... either way he failed bigtime!
LLS
Might that be R(i)P??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.