FRED VETS, SIGN UP TODAY AT:
Posted on 12/21/2007 11:51:11 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
About the nicest adjective some analysts have applied to Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is he's laid back.
More often, they're apt to call his campaign lethargic, dull, lazy, sleepy-eyed or, in the words of a conservative columnist, "fizzy as day-old cherry Coke."
Thompson, if he cares, doesn't show it.
In fact, he seems to wear his demeanor and his campaign's pace quite proudly.
Take when he walked into the Thunder Bay Grille restaurant in Davenport this month.
Barely had he begun speaking when he acknowledged the criticism. He said it reminds him of his first run for the Senate in Tennessee in 1994.
"It's kind of funny because the same things I hear about myself today, I heard about then," he told a room of more than 150 people. "Does he want it bad enough? Is he ambitious enough? Did he get in soon enough? All those things that didn't, to me, have anything to do with the future of our country, seemed to consume the attention of the chattering classes a whole lot."
In the end, he tells the crowd, his campaign went from 20 points down to a 20-point win. And in a state that Bill Clinton carried.
"I think I know a little something about winning elections," Thompson said.
With little time left before the Jan. 3 caucuses, Thompson trails in most polls, lagging behind Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and, often, Rudy Giuliani.
He's trying to change, though. Thompson's cranked up a bus tour, heavy with stops at local newspapers and town squares. And in perhaps the biggest boost to his Iowa campaign thus far, he won U.S. Rep. Steve King's endorsement.
The conservative Republican from western Iowa is a favorite of the right.
"There is only one candidate who epitomized the full spectrum of our conservative values," King said. He said Thompson was the best candidate when it came to appointments to the Supreme Court, something he called a "destiny issue."
Thompson's entry into the presidential race was much anticipated.
There was speculation he would consolidate conservatives unhappy with the records or prospects of the rest of the field.
It hasn't worked out that way, but what Thompson has done along the way is win plaudits for substantive policy proposals on immigration, taxes and Social Security.
On Social Security, for example, he's said the government needs to change the way it pays out future benefits, tying it to the consumer price index. What that will do is lower the rate of increase, something some economists believe is essential to the retirement program's long-term future.
He's also proposed allowing people to create private accounts.
"There's no reason to run for president of the United States if you can't tell the American people the truth about complex issues like Social Security," Thompson said while rolling out the plan last month.
He's also proposed cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 27 percent and ending the alternative minimum tax, which was initially instituted to catch rich people who avoided paying taxes but now is threatening to ensnare more middle-class taxpayers.
There have been proposals to fix the tax so it goes back to its original intent, but some conservatives want to get rid of it.
Bill Edmonds, a Davenport man who left a job as a car salesman in Wyoming two years ago to be closer to his grandchildren, said Thompson is the "true conservative" in the race.
He said people who just see Thompson as laid back, miss his strength.
"I come from the state of Wyoming. We're kind of the same way. We're pretty laid back. We don't get real excited about things until somebody excites us. Fred is going to be there," said Edmonds, who is a volunteer leader in the Quad-City area.
Thompson is perhaps best known today for the roles he's played in movies like the "Hunt for Red October" and on television's "Law & Order" where he plays prosecutor Arthur Branch.
Thompson gained initial fame as legal counsel for Republicans during the Watergate hearings. And his career got a big boost in the late 1970s when he represented a woman fired from Tennessee's parole board for failing to help the politically connected.
The case became a movie, in which Thompson starred.
Thompson got to the Senate by winning a special election in 1994, then a full, six-year term in 1996.
He focused on stopping nuclear proliferation and, in 1997, led a Senate investigation into the Clinton White House's fundraising.
Thompson faces long odds in Iowa, though he's performed better in most national polls. Here, he appears to be targeting Mike Huckabee, criticizing his record as governor of Arkansas and frowning on his foreign policy credentials.
Thompson may blame the attention to his demeanor on the "chattering classes," but interviews with Iowans say they, too, are paying attention to how all this is translating in national polls.
"If I don't see national support for Thompson, then I'm going to support the candidate who's the best conservative," George Templer, a conservative activist from Davenport, said earlier this month.
*BUMP*
Yeah, and Tancredo’s former campaign manager in the state has signed onto the Thompson bandwagon as well.
I think Fred Thompson doesn’t think much of the way campaigning is being done these days, there’s an undercurrent of comtempt of the whole process by him IMO.
I like it.
There is a nail to be hit there. It's a tough road to take on the Liberal Media but that's his stand.
It will be a pleasure to vote for Fred Thompson.
Uh...whut? Translation? Does he mean that if he doesn't he see national support for Thompson, he'll stick his finger in the wind to see what the rest of the country thinks is conservative?
Wonder what his FR name is?
The MSM thinks it is their right to pick the candidates for us. They only give air time to the ones they think will lose to the dim. I’ve seen this for many years. When I mention Fred or Duncan’s name to people, they have never heard of Duncan, and they parrot the MSM’s propaganda about Fred. Disgusting.
"If I don't see national support for Thompson, then I'm going to support the candidate who's the best conservative," George Templer, a conservative activist from Davenport, said earlier this month.
Too bad mental retardation is such a national epidemic. Here's a guy preparing to vote in the first caucus/primary in the election, and he's waiting for the media clowns to tell him who to pick.
First off, I’m amazed I’m up this late. Secondly we hired 2 new coders this week and they are my age. They are clueless about politics and believe Hillary is next. I have my work cut out for me.
The Fred memes, you mean?
“He’s lazy!”
is still numero uno. Too bad, the Ron Paul people are right for a change - the GOP base is fueled by “grassroots” activism, not the MSM.
I did chuckle. Then I cried. Then I laughed at myself crying. Ok, not all of that. But I did chuckle.
I almost cried typing it, because it rang so true. I could list dozens of FReepers who think that way, off the top of my head, and so could you, I’ll wager. “Let’s see who’s popular and jump on his bandwagon!” “Mitt has free refreshments and goodies, let’s caucus for him!” “I hear Mike Huckabee is a Baptist preacher, so let’s get behind a religious candidate, and don’t bother me with issues and where he stands!” and so on...
You almost cannot read a post on here about Fred that doesn’t begin with “I’d support him. He has the best ideas. But he’s behind. So, I’m kinda a fairweather conservative and I’m going to vote for the Patriots cuz they’re undefeated.” Bandwagon Republicans.
Yeah, Fred’s too tired/lazy/lethargic. And yet, comatose McCain is rising in the polls, and not a word is said.
FRED VETS, SIGN UP TODAY AT:
That is kind of the feeling I am having this year about Fred and Iowa. The past few days, the papers have somewhat shifted coverage from his "long shot, unenthusiastic campaign" to the crowds reaction to him (generally good). I have not watched Fox that much this year to even know who is covering the frontrunners, so I don't know if there is a switch or not, but watch for that. Also watch for national newspapers to pick up on these type stories (not just the local papers from the areas in which he is campaigning) and see if there is a trend.
I am not a Fred supporter, so take my insights for what they are worth, it is just a "feeling" I am getting. My guy has no chance at all in Iowa, and never has, so I am kind of looking at it from the outside.
Eight years of Fred was enough for me.
From the beginning I have said that on paper Fred should be my candidate. In fact if we could just install a candidate without going through this nasty campaign process I would want Fred seated, but reality is another thing.
If the man can not have an organized, enthusiastic campaign during the primaries, what leads me to believe that he will be any different during the general elections, when the stakes are so much higher?
In order to implement any great plan, you must get elected first. And whether we like it or not we live in an American Idol type world. No matter how much we despise it, it is a reality. As I said in my previous post, I am seeing subtle changes in not only his campaign, but in the coverage of it, but the nagging question in the back of my mind is, can he sustain that level of enthusiasm for the next 11 months?
I will 100% support the eventual nominee, without reservations, I just hope everyone else will too. Fred has probably the farthest to go, as of right now (he is not leading in any early primary state) so many are wondering if he can't invigorate the base right now, how will he invigorate the rest of the country in the general. I don't think that is an unfair question.
Please also remember, it is not the message, but the campaigns presentation of that message that matters in the end.
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.