Posted on 01/26/2008 5:48:15 PM PST by Conservatives_Unite
In his recent memoir, Alan Greenspan says he's been pushing a constitutional amendment of his own devising. It reads: "Anyone willing to do what is required to become president of the United States is thereby barred from taking that office." If the Greenspan amendment is ever enacted, it will at last clear the field for Fred Thompson, who might then become president. But not until then.
Thompson withdrew from the presidential race last week. He ended his campaign as he had conducted it, with a minimum of fuss and no wasted words. He released a withdrawal statement over the Internet. It was three sentences long, and he hasn't been heard from since. My guess is we'll be missing him dreadfully by spring.
The charge against Thompson, who entered the campaign last September when polls showed him a favorite among Republican voters, was repeated so often it became a cliché. Like most clichés it tells us more about the people who used it than about the state of affairs it was supposed to describe. His campaign lacked "energy." He didn't get out enough on the campaign trail, and, when he did, he didn't hold enough events. His speaking style was too low-key, and his speeches were too long, and more often than not his "performance" in televised debates was lackluster. He just didn't have the fire in the belly.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
As Groucho Marx said, “I’d never join a country club that would have me as a member!”
If by that we mean someone who is consumed by the desire to be president, ala Hillary/Bill, I would say no. All I ever heard Fred say was that was not his approach to the task but that if he did not want to be president or did not think he would do a good job as such, he would not be in the race. That was good enough for me.
The President of the United States is not a normal job. Yeah, you want a normal, well-rounded guy to run the shipping department at the local plumbing supply firm — you don’t want a normal, well-rounded guy in the Oval Office.
“Don’t we WANT someone who has the fire?”
No.
We want a George Washington, or an Eisenhower, or a Fred Thompson.
It wasn’t Fred who failed. It was the Republican voters.
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.