Posted on 09/08/2007 5:17:56 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
So now, finally, we have a Fred Thompson presidential candidacy.
The new candidate, fresh from his Schwarzeneggeresque announcement on Jay Leno, doesn’t have much patience for those who say he waited too long to get in the race.
“I don’t think people are going to say, ‘You know, that guy would make a very good president, but he just didn’t get in soon enough,’” Thompson told Leno Wednesday night — while the other GOP candidates debated in New Hampshire.
It’s a good line. But it is, in fact, too late for Thompson to run the kind of conventional candidacy — mega-fundraising, big ground organizations in the early primary states — that Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have conducted.
The question is whether Thompson can win without that conventional game. And if so, how will he do it? Certainly, his appeal will be unique, with a star quality that makes him more than just another former senator who wants to be president.
But Giuliani, for one, gets the rock-star treatment from Republican audiences, too.
And what about message? Will Thompson’s be that different from his fellow GOP candidates’?
There’s no doubt Thompson will be strong on national defense and aggressive in dealing with the threat of terrorism.
But what other major Republican candidate won’t be strong on national defense and aggressive in dealing with the threat of terrorism?
Likewise, Thompson will be strong on fiscal responsibility. But what other GOP candidate won’t?
Even in those areas where he might differ from the Republican field — abortion and immigration — Thompson’s positions will still track with Iowa and New Hampshire front-runner Mitt Romney.
But all that may be beside the point. What Thompson will sell in his campaign is a personal quality of leadership, not policy details.
You can see that in the one issue Thompson talks about more than the other candidates — entitlement reform.
Thompson often makes the case that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are going broke.
But he knows that George W. Bush, at the height of his presidential powers, devoted months to Social Security reform — and got nowhere.
“What’s happened in the past is interesting and relevant but not in any way determinative of the future,” Thompson said when I asked him about it last month. “Somebody’s going to have to talk truth to people and address those things and see what kind of response you get.”
But how could Thompson get different results from Bush?
“I think that’s the leadership that can only come from the top,” he said.
And that is the essence of the Thompson appeal. He’s not pretending to have new ideas about everything. He’s saying he can get things done that other candidates can’t.
Whether people will believe that is another matter. When it comes to getting things done, Giuliani and Romney will say two words — “executive experience” — over and over.
They’ve got it, and Thompson doesn’t.
And right now, they are running tightly organized campaigns, while Thompson’s has been somewhat chaotic, with lots of departures and much moving about.
Now, normally a few staff changes do not say much about a candidate. But a lot of them suggest that the man at the top doesn’t have a firm hand.
We saw that with McCain, whose campaign woes made us wonder about his ability to run the store.
At least, that’s what the doubters say. Now Thompson has a chance to prove them wrong.
--------------------------------------------------
York is a White House correspondent for National Review. His column appears in The Hill each week. E-mail: byork@nationalreview.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Fred will bump!
Amazing how times have changed. Formerly, candidates didn't announce their candidacy for the Presidency until after Labor Day the year before. Obviously, Fred has done quite well by waiting. He is already a solid number two and perhaps number one candidate who immediately is considered a top-tier candidate. Not bad.
"Thompson will be strong on fiscal responsibility. But what other GOP candidate won’t?"
Answer:
The leftist liars in the media deciding who is "top-tier" and the RNC hacks letting them determine it is the most disgusting thing. Even the so-called "conservative" media pundits on television and "conservative" columnists are trying to cram liberalism right down our throats...
If that is indeed the case, then the rank and file of the GOP are willing accomplices.
He cannot. And that's why it is the wrong issue. The right issue is something along the lines Gingrich has articulated: how do we give your children the best chance to compete with the Chinese and to survive the hundred years war of Islamic fundamentalism?
That means we must reform energy, education, trade imbalance, and, yes, entitlements but that works only in the context of national survival.
Our standard bearer must fashion an overarching policy that nationalizes the whole election and seizes the mood of the country while applying conservative values to the solution. Anything less and we Republicans are doomed to defeat across-the-board. Entitlement reform alone is less.
your comment makes too much sense for most on this forum!
/s
How does Romney stand on abortion? Up until recently, he had gone or record as supporting a constitutional amendment restricting abortion, as called for in the Republican Party's platform, but in a recent speech in Las Vegas, he told his listeners that abortion legislation should be left to the states. Will the real Romney please stand up?
I think a lot of them are just uwitting dupes... too much time on the couch in front of the television with their ballcaps on backwards...
To his credit, Thompson is not a “formula candidate.” He doesn’t comport with the expectations of Beltway politicos, commentators and media types, and his campaign won’t be as slick as some of his opponents in both parties. - PatriotPost.US
?Quien es mas macho?
Es cierto. Fred Thompson es mas macho.
Jeez Louise.
Have you even been listening to ANYHING Fred Thompson has been saying?
Anything at all?
While entitlement reform is part of what he has on the agenda, it certainly isn't everything, and even then, Thompson has placed entitelment reform in EXACTLY the context you refer to and attribute to Newt Gingrich.
Hmmm.....is he praising Fred with faint damns or damning Fred with faint praises?
Hmmmm......he appears to be damning Fred with damn faint damns, doesn't he.
Damn, another flipper.
Damn, another subscription cancellation.
Leni
Yes he is mentioned these things but they must be integrated into a holistic and synergistic program that is mutually supportive and brings people to the inevitable conclusion that the Republic is at stake and these things are urgent. A random grab bag of issues, no matter how conservative, will not seize the moment. If the Republican candidate does not seize the moment, the media will and the Democrats will win.
That message must be delivered with conviction and energy. So far, Fred Thompson has demonstrated conviction but many observers, at least in the chattering class, are yawning. So, voters must walk away with a conviction that Thompson's message is right and that Thompson is the right messenger, that is, he is the only man who sees the problem and the solution and has the energy to solve it.
Surely you cannot contend that he has done that so far.
Fred's my pick and, therefore, the criticism was meant to be constructive.
Don’t underestimate the value of extreme name/face recognition - even if the candidate was “only playing one on TV”.
Only about 5% of votes are really up for grabs (rest are blindly pre-decided). Of those in the mushy moderate middle, a significant (majority?) percentage may very well choose a candidate because “he is that nice wise strong man on TV”, while the other candidates garner a “who?”
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.