Thompson spoke for 4 minutes, and not about issues. He introduced his wife Geri. He chuckled about being bald. Fred thanked the people who put together the biographical video.
Our county representatives were shocked at the brevity of Fred's speech. Thompson had a great opportunity to showcase his qualifications as a Presidential candidate in front of the FL GOP party faithful, and he didn't do this. Indeed, he was disappointing. The crowd left the rally 30 minutes early thanks to Thompson's lack of preparation and enthusiasm.
Giuliani was the most passionate of the four candidates. Rudy warmed the crowd by acknowledging Florida's importance in the election process. He spoke at length about fiscal responsibility, the dangers of Hillary health care, and the War on Terror. Giuliani earnestly and methodically appealed for votes, as he carefully avoided abortion and gun rights issues.
Mitt Romney had his wife and son Tag with him. Mrs. Romney told us how wonderful 60 year old Mitt is as a husband, father and grandfather. Mitt talked about his family and a 1963 Rambler. He spoke about repealing the capital gains tax for everyone making less than $200K, and repealing the death tax. He received strong applause for the tax issues.
John McCain was soft spoken, and utilized his dry wit. McCain emphasized his experience in the military, and 50 years in national security. McCain repeatedly talked about securing the borders to the same skeptical audience who had heckled Mel Martinez about amnesty.
One of these candidates will most likely be the GOP nominee for President. I was rooting for Fred until yesterday. In fact, I deliberately left my Thompson campaign poster behind. We'll see if he pulls a rabbit out of the hat tonight. Otherwise, Fred is in trouble.
I've donated to Fred several times already, but I will be paying close attention from now on.
I've been criticized harshly on this forum for having "high expectations" from our candidates, but winning in 2008 is a serious thing. I'm perfectly willing to endure the verbal assaults of sycophants who are not willing acknowledge the situation for what it is. Fred's people need to understand what his perceived weaknesses are and do their best to show strength in those areas.
We need a conservative candidate who will take the initiative to actually lead us to victory. We need a candidate who will compel people to vote for them based on the issues. We can't count on someone to coast through because people don't want to vote for Hillary.
I want Fred to be that man, but all the wishing in the world can't change things if he isn't the man to pull this off.
I will not set sail on another cruise on the "SS Bob Dole", no matter how nice the deck chairs are arranged.
And for the FReeper "bots" who can't stand a little common sense reality check, loosen up and get that oxygen flow going back to your brain.
This is coming from a Fred Thompson supporter. He will not win by default, he must actively take the issues to the supporters and in the debates, take Hillary to task for her obvious failures on the issue.
Well, at least we have several choices out there. I sure don't want a RINO to win the primary, that will kill the party. Yet what we have is still way better than the democrat party choice, which is a coronation of their dark queen followed by several high profile human sacrifices. Will it be Obama or Edwards who goes first?
Was Fred that bad ?
Who stood out to you as an acceptable alternative given their presentation ?