“But except for the fact that he didn’t fall off the stage there is no way that you can paint his performance as any sort of a victory.”
Here’s one observer who thinks that folks who came away with the impression you are pushing have their heads screwed on backwards:
Jackie Mason:
http://www.theamericanmind.com/2007/10/11/jackie-mason-defends-fred-thompson/
I suggest you have a look.
Lol, the guy you linked me too certainly used enough adjectives to try and argue that Fred won but he was a little short on facts.
I honestly don’t see how anyone can say that Fred won. He may have done as well as he needed to do to meet expectations and keep his supporters but he certainly did not appear to be as comfortable and on top of his game as many of the other candidates. If this was a debate competition and we were all were judges (who had to be completely impartial) who were judging based upon things like organization, eye contact, speaking quality, command of the facts, humor and any other objective criteria that you want to use. How many of you actually think Fred won?