Posted on 10/24/2007 8:22:10 PM PDT by Josh Painter
I think Thompson and his campaign have assessed that breaking these media rules will actually help him get to the real campaign. They might be right. Two benefits seem to be accruing to Thompson.
First, breaking the rules has earned him notice. This is ironic, as most candidates follow the rules of the perpetual campaign for precisely this reason. They do a lot of stump speeches to get on the evening news. They do the Sunday morning show circuit. They take any opportunity to appear on Hardball that they can get. And so on. But not Thompson. So, is the media ignoring him? Hardly! Instead, his rule breaking has earned him more attention. My favorite example of this so far was Thompson's declaration of his candidacy. The fact that he announced his candidacy on Jay Leno was taken as rule breaking. But consider the net result... Far from being punished, Thompson was rewarded for his defiance.
But much more importantly, I think Thompson has assessed that breaking these rules could win him support. People outside the Beltway, whose daily lives are not regimented by the news cycle, appreciate that the perpetual campaign has reached a point of asininity. Accordingly, a candidate could win supporters over in the real campaign by claiming that he ignored all of these rules, which essentially mandate twenty-two months of nonstop campaigning. This is a twist on running against Washington. It is running against the Washington press corps. A Republican candidate can do this all the more. After all, the perpetual campaign is mediated by the press, which conservatives loathe. Instead of saying that he broke the media's rules, a candidate instead can say that he broke the Drive By Media's rules. That is a great way to win conservatives over: run against the Drive By's.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Hey, if he would promise to veto every spending bill, do absolutely nothing as president, and just leave us all the hell alone, I’ll vote for him, too. ;-)
Thompson DID NOT stand out IMO.
Mind you, I am someone who hopes this guy can get it together and pulls it out, because we do not IMO have a good enough electable candidate that is conservative without him IMO.
He needs to do a gut check and come out swinging far harder than he has.
Then you weren’t watching since he stole the show with his final answer. His down home speaking is very effective.
He doesn’t have to be Reagan, he only has to be better than the Wicked Witch of NY.
Pray for W and Our Troops
I watched the whole thing.
I think he needs to do better.
I think if we can’t get him as the nominee, then beating Hillary will be much tougher.
He's got MY attention. And I don't know what more he would have to do to get YOUR attention.
He definitely DID win (or at least tie with Giuliani) the Florida debate. His answers were clear, substantive, correct and can stand up to media scrutiny. His wit is natural and unscripted, indicating an engaged and nimble mind.
EVERY criticism I have reqad against Thompson concentrates on his personal characteristics: he's too bald, he has bags under his eyes, he seems tired, his voice isn't animated enough, his wife is too young, his speeches are too short, he talks too slow. Need I say that these criticisms are shallow?
The man has what it takes to be president. He's not an overweening wannabe. He hasn't been prepping for the job since he got home from his High School Senior Prom. He is a lifelong conservative. He is committed to limited government. He will appoint the kind of judges that won't legislate from the bench. He will actually LEAD on entilement refomr, and tax code reform. He won't be stampeded by anybody.
Fred's my man.
He’s not getting it done yet IMO.
I think he may be our only shot though, so I hope he gains steam... FAST!
He served almost two terms in the Senate, winning a special election when Albert Gore, Junior was elevated to the Vice Presidency, and winning reelection years later.
I'm quoting this bit of the analysis because it amuses me. I admit I love the idea of running not just against Washington, but it's press core.
Whether it's true is only for Thompson and his closest stratagists to answer to.
I remember how much of G.W.B's term everything he did was referred to as part of some master plan. A rope-a-dope. haven't heard that so much the last couple of years. I'm sure some of it was planned, but the ratio of "rope-a-dope" vs coincidence vs stupidity I just don't know anymore.
Here we have an analyst struggling to compute why Thompson's still a player, second in most polls, when he's been trashed from the left and right. So the grand theory arises to explain it. the Theory could be true, or it could be the reincarnation of rope-a-dope. I don't really care.
It' up to his strategists to do what's working and limit what's not working. Hopefully they are up to that task. i can only speak for myself and I'm not supporting him because he's breaking the rules. I'm supporting him because he's the only one with an acceptable conservative record at the top of this race. Given i have access to the internet, I'm about as plugged in as any of these reporters or punditry on either aisle and have the ability to disregard their assessments of him provided the record is strong enough to make it worth my while. I've determined it is.
More FR members (40.3%) thought that he helped himself more that any other ( MH@ 16%). But I basically agree with you, he should have done better, and I am pulling for him. He is not yet electrifying. He needs to take lessons from the master- Zell Miller. I will never forget that speech.
For every set of political experts following the script which results in winning the presidency, there is another set of political experts who follow the script which results in losing the presidency. The "script" has a success rate of exactly 50%. Thanks for your opinion, but I'll stick with Fred.
He is establishing himself as “outside the beltway”
Question is, can he handle the beltway?
Ron Paul may understand how to write a prescription for Viagra; but he has not a clue regarding Real Politik!
(Just my unbiased opinion of this lightweight spoiler. *S*)
Who would you choose right now!
Agree. Ron Paul attracts far too many wackos. Certainly there are things we all agree with him on, but frankly, there is something not quite right between the good doctor’s ears.
Asinine?
It is well established that Beltway politics is brutal.
GWB went there with the reputation of being a “uniter”.
Was he able to unite?
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