Why 'lazy' Fred Thompson may have a shot (A "positive" hit piece)

Fortune ^ | October 11 2007 | David Whitford

[2ndDivisionVet]

Here's my anonymously sourced, second-hand Fred Thompson story that confirms the conventional wisdom. Takes place at a dinner in Washington last winter. Thompson is sitting next to a Hollywood insider who asks him, Why weren't you interested in being president of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)? Look, Thompson says. Dick Wolf (creator of "Law and Order") pays me a lot of money to work two days a week. Why would I work for less money and work six days a week? Okay, says the insider, I get that. Then a few weeks later comes the news that Thompson wants to be president of the United States.

I wouldn't share that story if I hadn't just spent three days with Thompson on the campaign trail in Iowa, during which I gathered enough evidence with my own eyes and ears to conclude that what the anecdote suggests - Thompson is lazy, he doesn't lust for the presidency - could very well be true. I saw how he enters a room (tentatively), how he addresses a crowd (dispassionately), how he interacts with voters one-on-one (reluctantly). You hear about politicians who draw energy from the people around them. I would say of Thompson that he sucks energy out, and then lets it dissipate.

--snip--

But to conclude therefore that Thompson won't be a factor in the Republican primary race would be a foolish - maybe even grave - mistake.(continued)

[2ndDivisionVet]

He does make some valid points, albeit snarkily...

[iowamark]

I spoke with Mr. Whitford at a Fred event last week. He’s not a political expert by any means. He had never heard of FreeRepublic.

I did get a laugh out of him quoting Tad “a tad too”Devine.

[Philistone]

I wouldn’t mind a President who spent four days a week exclusively on internal and external security and then took three days off.

Please spare me a “busy” President who spends seven days a week trying to figure out how to take away my liberties.

[EGPWS]

Fred Thompson is going to be the surprise candidate who is going to leave the MSM dead in their tracks!

[2ndDivisionVet]

PING!!

[2ndDivisionVet]

I remember President Jimmy Carter micromanaging EVERYTHING, down to the scheduling of the White House tennis courts! He was the WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER. so whatever the opposite of him is, is my choice....

[battlecry]

Churchill took naps. Nothing wrong with that.

[SwinneySwitch]

“It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?” ~ Ronald Reagan

[Williams]

"He's like a dad, a good dad - dependable, unflappable, familiar. "

EXACTLY my reaction to President Ronald Reagan, at the one live speech I attended.

[Cicero]

Like other liberal writers, he confuses, or pretends to confuse, laziness with common sense. And the same with Fred’s speaking style. It’s plain, direct, honest, and to my mind exactly what I want to hear, not some two-bit orator pretending to emote at me like Al Gore or Jean Kerri.

Liberals are so far out of it, they don’t even recognize it when someone behaves like a normal person.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“Please spare me a “busy” President who spends seven days a week trying to figure out how to take away my liberties”

We have a winner!!

[carjic]

If this is the best we can do, we have a big problem.

[Paperdoll]

LOL!

[2ndDivisionVet]

Please suggest an alternative.

[dusttoyou]

I wholeheartedly agree with Williams.

You like ‘em slick like Mitt or fast talkin like Rooty? Or are just going to let hitlery slip right on in???

[carjic]

Hey, I will vote for whoever gets the nod, but this guy is not anyone I can get excited about. The comparisons to Reagan are silly. I remember being so excited every time I heard Reagan talk. I went out and worked hard in 1980 for him. Fred is not Reagan. It just slays me to read you guys trying to put lipstick on a pig.

[AnAmericanMother]

"Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders."

- Erwin Rommel

[2ndDivisionVet]

I worked for both Presidents Carter and Reagan. Unbelievable difference in the two: Mr. Carter was in way over his head, Mr. Reagan made it look easy, like a tv show.

[Brilliant]

Dick Wolf (creator of "Law and Order") pays me a lot of money to work two days a week. Why would I work for less money and work six days a week?

That's supposed to show he's lazy? To me, it shows he's smart.

[Goodness]

Thompson is lazy, he doesn't lust for the presidency

Good! His staff should be selling the "he doesn't really want the job, but feels it's his duty, like George Washington did" theme. Voters would love the change.

[radiohead]

I met this guy at one of the Iowa Thompson functions; he musta been on crack 'cause his perception was completely the opposite of mine.

Thompson had an enthusiastic crowd, spent a lot of time one-on-one with the folks (more time than I thought he would, considering his schedule), and was friendly and upbeat talking , shaking hands, giving autographs, and getting his picture taken.

I thought a guy from Fortune would be smarter, now I know you can't believe what press says, no matter what publication they're from.

[Theresawithanh]

Many here have been using the ‘lipstick on a pig’ bit with their candidate, not just Fred’s supporters. As a Fred supporter, I dislike the comparisons to Reagan. I can’t deny the similarities, though, especially when you look at what was said about Reagan when he was a candidate and what is being said about Fred now.

[Verginius Rufus]

OK, Churchill took naps. But does Fred paint?

[daylilly]

Fred says this almost every time he gives a stump speech.

“he doesn’t really want the job, but feels it’s his duty, like George Washington did”

He even mentions George Washington sometimes when he is talking about term limits.

[Finny]

I remember President Jimmy Carter micromanaging EVERYTHING, down to the scheduling of the White House tennis courts!

Get outta here! Really?

[Finny]

“It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?” ~ Ronald Reagan

Thanks for posting that beauty!

[HundredDollars]

If this was hit piece, I’d be afraid to read a pro-Fred article from this guy. It kept saying to myself, “Hell yeah!” I finished wanting to donate to Fred, even though I haven’t decided who I’m pulling for in the primary.

A pro-Fred article would probably describe him as a nuanced, effeminate poseur like john f’n kerry.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Okay, I take it back..LOL

[donnab]

LOL Finny ...my 16yr old has a Tshirt with that saying on it.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Look it up, I kid you not!!

[rogue yam]

Then comes a folksy anecdote about "driving around Iowa today, looking at that beautiful countryside," and how "it occurred to me basically how simple this business is of running for president.

It takes a folksy man to tell a folksy anecdote. Cheers, everybody!

[Finny]

"Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders."
- Erwin Rommel

"The dumb and ambitious one are dangerous" -- wow, if that isn't John Edwards to a tee!

[Maceman]

My mama always told me that lazy people make the world go ‘round, because they’re the ones who figure out the best ways to get things done.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

But Churchill was the best of both worlds, he took naps, but, was considered one of the best orator ( ever ) who spoke with a lot of common sense, but was no two-bit with a lot of hot air and BS. he meant what he said.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Can you imagine if he got his marching orders from Cheryl Crow and micromanaged the toilet paper ?

[2111USMC]

He states that very position in pretty much every campaign stop.

We saw him at one of his Iowa stops. I like the guy. He’s getting our votes.

[okie01]

Liberals are so far out of it, they don’t even recognize it when someone behaves like a normal person.

Reality has no role in liberalism.

[Oklahoma]

Look, not even Reagan was Reagan. He was human and made many mistakes while President. (Sandra Day O’Conner, Beirut, and Senior Catastrophic Health Insurance being among them.) This attempt at his deification by some Conservatives isn’t doing any of us any good. We have plenty of time to decide which of the candidates will make the best opponent for Hillary the Beast. Maybe it will be Thompson or one of the others. I’ll support whichever one it is. Wouldn’t you agree?

[mo]

When I listen to Fred..I hear a wisdom that most wet-behind-the-ears j-school narcissists could not recognize or fathom. Certainly he’s not throwing “his” ideas at you..he constantly references the Constitution and the Founding Fathers...small wonder the the reporterettes hardly know what he’s talking about!!

[bethtopaz]

You guys at FR are unbelievable — now you’re trying to convince yourselves that having a lazy, unmotivated, disinterested president is a good thing. Wow! Denial is NOT a river in Egypt!

[Politicalmom]

[carjic]

I was referring to Reagan’s ability to excite the audience with enthusiasm and great ideas. Not his God like obituary. As I said I will vote for whoever gets the nod but just as I did with Bush, i will have to hold my nose. At least Bush gave me a nice surprise with the great way he handled 9-11.

[HundredDollars]

Well, since we wish that Hillary was lazy and unmotivated into trying to be a dictator by any other name, and you wish that Bush was lazy and unmotivated in his protection of America from Islamic Fascist, maybe we can reach middle ground on Fred.

Can we count on your vote for Fred who is too lazy and unmotivated to be a dictator but not so much so that he won't protect America from Islamic Fascist?

"Give a lazy man a hard job and he'll find an easy way to do it." - Unknown

[b9]

"it occurred to me basically how simple this business is of running for president. How people talk about it's so hard, it's so complex, so many issues and all that. It's really pretty simple. And it has to do with what's good for America." People are nodding now. Two keys in the coming election, he says: One is "to adhere to the principles we have always believed in as a nation;" two is "to nominate somebody who is a commonsense conservative who can win in November, and I submit to you I am that man."

Losing weight is "simple" too ~ just eat less. ";^)

Fred is elegantly, humbly, profoundly simple and deep, instead of complex and shallow.

[AnAmericanMother]

Rommel may have been fighting for the wrong side, but he sure was a perceptive dude.

[bethtopaz]

You cannot count on my vote for Fred Thompson.

The man is not only lazy, he is out of touch.

So he’s for federalism. So he has his “first principles” talking points down.

I wouldn’t trust him to run the corner drugstore.

Sorry. Just my opinion.

I am highly unimpressed with your Fred Thompson.

[John Leland 1789]

Maybe Mr. Thompson would do much less in Washington, like the Congress should do much less. The more they do, the deeper we sink into socialism. All of Washington should go home more often and quit trying to sit up there and figure things out for us, as if they are smarter than us.

[ejonesie22]

I’m shocked...

[Finny]

Yes. Rommel didn't like Hitler and if I remember correctly, was murdered by Hitler (or forced to commit suicide) when he joined in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. My husband has had the pleasure of meeting some of Germany's finest WWII fighter pilots. Same thing -- they were fighting for the wrong side, but were excellent men. The movie Das Boot also gets this across. I believe that on balance, the Germans have more in the plus column than the minus as far as the betterment of Western Civilization. They certainly have been profound leaders in aviation, engineering, and science, and until only about two generations ago, made up the single largest group of immigrants to our beloved United States -- Texas is what it is because of Germans. Hitler was a fluke who turned the Germans' biggest asset -- discipline and orgnung -- into its biggest weakness.

As compared to Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, Kim Jong Il, Hillary Clinton -- they were not and are not flukes. The first four were murderers on a scale far exceeding Hitler at his worst, and they were not flukes. They murdered in the name of pursuing an ideal of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

[Finny]

Oops. Make that ordnung -- order.