Posted on 09/10/2007 5:58:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Fred Thompson might have waited too long to enter the Republican fray for president, political experts and party officials say.
The ideal time for kicking off his campaign, they suggested, would have been this summer. Then, the political community was abuzz with speculation about the 6-foot-6-inch Tennessean.
The most-asked question in politics then was: Will he run?
One day, the former U.S. senator sounded like a candidate chomping at the bit to run for president.
The next day, Thompson wasn’t sure.
Hard-core conservatives, who thought they did not have a dog in the 2008 presidential contest, were holding out for Thompson.
But Thompson dawdled.
He was getting conflicting advice from some of his closest friends. It created tensions in the campaign, causing some to call it quits.
The indecisiveness cost him.
“He lost a lot of momentum. He just fiddled around. I think he lost considerable altitude,” said Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen, a Republican activist.
The announcement conservative Republicans had hoped for last spring finally came Wednesday night during NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
“It is the longest non-opening act in history,” quipped Emory University analyst Merle Black.
Thompson enters the race late and with sky-high expectations. The combination of the two leaves little margin for error.
Most national polls of Republican voters put Thompson in second place, trailing front-runner former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani but leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Thus far, the GOP contest for the presidency has been, for some, a big yawner. It remains to be seen whether Thompson can bring life and spark to the race.
He has about 30 days to prove himself as a worthy candidate.
Judging by his performance this summer, one wonders whether Thompson will measure up.
His summer was a disaster complete with unflattering headlines. There were published reports about a campaign in disarray before it was even an official campaign. His fundraising was sluggish.
Another concern: Thompson’s renowned lack of enthusiasm for work, including campaigning.
Roll Call columnist Stu Rothenberg says Thompson blew his best chance by not getting into the race in the spring or summer.
Instead, Thompson looked indecisive and weak, Rothenberg wrote in a recent column. “He has lost potential supporters and contributions to other campaigns. And he has limited the strategic options of his campaign.”
The question is whether Thompson can regain any of the momentum his candidacy lost over the summer.
After a summer of staff upheavals, mixed reviews of his speeches and fundraising that did not meet expectations, Thompson says he’s ready to go.
For the next 30 days, the political world will be watching intently. During that time, Thompson must demonstrate an ability to organize a campaign, raise money and create a solid, positive image, said College of Charleston political scientist Bill Moore.
University of South Carolina political scientist Robert Botsch of Aiken predicts Thompson’s candidacy will “shake things up.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett of Westminster says Thompson will “bring freshness, honesty and realism to the race.”
One of the things that Barrett likes most about Thompson — which could be the candidate’s undoing — is his tendency to stray from his script. “I like it that he is unscripted,” the congressman said.
Thompson must live up to the high expectations that his much-anticipated candidacy gave rise to, says Winthrop University professor Scott Huffmon.
If Thompson fails, if his candidacy starts sliding, he could very well be in trouble, says Moore of the College of Charleston.
“His candidacy is either going to take off like a rocket or come crashing back to earth,” said Clemson political scientist Doug Woodard, a GOP consultant.
Which one will it be?
We’ll know in about a month.
If you all remember I was willing to wait for a “October Surprise”!!!!!!........
Just after Labor Day is the traditional time to announce for the Presidency. Fred Thompson is right on time. A better question to ask would be why every other Republican candidate was buffaloed into declaring on Hillary!'s time-table.
There is plenty of time for Fred Thompson to kick butt between now and January.
Since when is announcing your candidacy more than a year before the election “too late”?
Frankly, the debates so far on both sides have been absolutely pointless, and hardly anyone has been paying attention to them.
People will be sick of Obama and Hillary after they have seen them on the covers of news magazines in the supermarket for nearly two years.
As I said last May, summer would have been the worst possible time to announce a candidacy, since everyone is off on vacation, in spirit if not in actuality. TV is into reruns, and it’s too hot to worry about politics. After Labor Day is the natural time for the announcement, and it’s exactly what I expected.
Thanks, finnman.
Fred Flintsone stops his car with his feet.
Fred Thompson works in a quary and has a boss named Mr. Slate who's always firing him.
I used to have a hard time keeping them straight too.
HAHAHAHAHA Yeah right! That’s why he’s racing up the polls, because he waited too long! LOL!
Firstly, pundits and reports don’t decide when it’s too late for a candidate to enter a race. That’s for the voters to decide.
Secondly, repeating a lie doesn’t make it true.
Thirdly, the premise of the article is false, as is evidence by the recent poll results.
Pssst. Take a peek at the calendar. It's STILL summer!
Actually, it was empty-suit Obama who announced first. Hillary wasn't going to announce as early as she did - he just jumped the gun and pretty much forced her into announcing before he sewed up the money and the support - the "rock star" (I hate that term) treatment that he was getting threw her into a panic.
If I were Obama, I wouldn't be going for any walks in Fort Marcy Park...
I don’t think he came in that far too late, although if he had waited much longer you could definitely make that case.
The point is, he’s in it. And he’s riding off a bounce right now with a slight lead in the polls. The next few weeks will be the key.
Hillary has been campaigning for president/dictator since 1992. I think she got in too early and it’s too late for her to do anything about it.
What a bunch of chicken littles.Maybe they dont know of rasmussen?
From the local weather morons to global warming prophets to hurricane gurus to political pundits to Psychic Friends Network types, I have yet to see anyone predict the future with any accuracy. The greater the agenda, the greater the “prediction”. Some make good educated guesses, some are just idiotic. Oh yeah, how many named storms were we supposed to get this year when they first “predicted”? 17. Then revised down and down again (8 so far). Second year in a row that none have hit the Gulf coast (yet at least this year). I’m sure they’re disappointed as is Smokin’ Al Gore along with all the FT doomsayers.
It’s interesting to note, the democrat candidate who went on to win that party’s nomination in 2004 declared his candidacy exactly four years ago ... last Sunday.
Clemson political scientist Doug Woodard
political scientist Robert Botsch
Emory University analyst Merle Black
No, quite the opposite, the others are all nauseatingly old news now! What they don’t realize is the American people are tired of this already! GO FRED!
It appears that Thompson is lead Rudy on Rasmussen’s 3 day rolling average. It didn’t look to me like he was also leading the Gallup.
Fred Thompson is making his own rules. He want to be the outsider. In doing so he is getting free publicity and doesn't need to raise as much money and spend it on a prolonged primary season.
If he runs the country like his campaign, spending may well be under control much more quickly amd decisions will be made strategically rather than reflexively.
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.