Values Voters let their voice be heard, and they sure weren’t calling for Fred Thompson. Mitt Romney won the straw poll with 1,595 votes, barely edging out Mike Huckabee who received 1,565. And where was Fred Thompson in the polling? With 564 votes, he was in the middle of the pack. Now, in some polls, this might not be too bad for Fred Thompson. However, citizens represented by the Values Voters were supposed to be the base that would propel Fred Thompson to victory. The fact that Fred Thompson did so poorly in the Values Voter Summit Straw Poll is a particularly ominous sign for his campaign. The big question now is, what happened?
There could be a number of reasons for Fred Thompson’s inability to woo Values Voters. Perhaps they have learned that Fred Thompson’s views have not corresponded with their own. For example, although he claims to have always been an opponent of abortion, in 1994 when taking a survey, he opined that abortion during the first trimester should always be legal. And, of course, Fred Thompson was one of the very few Republicans in congress who voted against removing Bill Clinton from office for committing perjury. Some Values Voters may have trouble reconciling these positions (and others) with the conservative image Fred Thompson has tried to maintain.
Another likely reason Fred Thompson does not appeal to the Values Voters is that they have realized he lacks the drive and ability to win the presidential election against an aggressive Democratic candidate. As Michael van der Galien stated, “The reason isn’t that Thompson isn’t ‘conservative’ enough, but that he simply comes across as a man who suffers from insomnia. Leaders should inspire, Thompson doesn’t.” Michael concludes, “Christian conservatives may have thought that Thompson was their man, but he lacks the passion to become the next president of the most powerful country on earth. It’s not difficult to imagine what the result of the elections would be in November next year if we see Clinton (or Obama) against Thompson in the debates. The latter won’t stand a chance: he’ll be blown away.” I agree completely with Michael’s assessment of the situation, and many Values Voters may be coming to the same conclusion.
Throughout his campaign, Fred Thompson has consistently demonstrated his inability to connect with his audience. Christian conservatives had been clamoring for Fred Thompson to run for office, so the Values Voters Summit was one of the friendliest audiences he could possibly face. This should have been a situation in which he wouldn’t have any problem connecting with the audience. However, at the Values Voter Summit, Fred Thompson addressed the audience with his chin buried in his chest and speaking in monotone. Ronald Sell, who heard Thompson’s speech, stated that “He (Fred Thompson) didn’t look good.” Ronald was disappointed with Fred Thompson, and was surprised that he did not “at least have his lines memorized.” He then finished with the trenchant observation that, “if he was the candidate, we’d be in trouble.”
Whatever the reason, if Fred Thompson can’t connect with his own base, odds aren’t very good he’d be able to convince a majority of the general population to vote for him in a presidential election.
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Fred Thompson Finally Attends a Debate
Fred Thompson managed to beat all expectations during the first debate. Admittedly, the bar was set pretty low, so he exceeded most expectations when he didn’t drool all over him self in a state of stupor during the debate. Other than that, there wasn’t much positive from Fred Thompson during his first debate.
At the beginning of the debate, Fred Thompson demonstrated his impressive ability to talk a lot without really saying anything. When asked why two thirds of Americans are pessimistic about the economy, Thompson rambled “Well, I think there are pockets in this economy that, certainly, they’re having difficulty. I think they’re certainly those in Michigan that are having difficulty. I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy...” This type of response was typical from Thompson. As if to highlight his slow witted nature, these nonsensical answers were the best that Thompson could come up with even after several moments of serious consideration and intense thought between the time he heard the question and his proffered response.
It would seem that Fred Thompson has staked out his positions on key issues, and he will stick with those positions regardless of reality. For example, when asked about the potential for an economic recession, Thompson responded “I think there is no reason to believe that we’re heading for a recessions. We’re enjoying 22 quarters of successive economic growth.” While his optimism is laudable, it would be nice to know if Thompson is at least cognizant that economic conditions are changing and that there is a legitimate threat of a recession.
To his credit, Thompson did have a couple clever remarks that created a bit of laughter, but overall his performance was lacking. He certainly did not demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the issues that would be expected from the President of the United States.
In a 2003 interview in the Nashville Bar Journal, Fred Thompson was asked about running for president. He responded, “I was never really willing to pay the price I knew had to be paid. I would really have to strain hard to come up with something I wanted to say ten times a day for the next year of my life when I knew that talking about the really important stuff would not get me anywhere. You have to have a great desire to be president, and I never had the desire to do that.”
It’s too bad Fred Thompson changed his mind between 2003 and 2007.
To be notified of new articles on this blog, send an e-mail to richard.stevens47@yahoo.com with “Subscribe” in the subject line.
At the beginning of the debate, Fred Thompson demonstrated his impressive ability to talk a lot without really saying anything. When asked why two thirds of Americans are pessimistic about the economy, Thompson rambled “Well, I think there are pockets in this economy that, certainly, they’re having difficulty. I think they’re certainly those in Michigan that are having difficulty. I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy...” This type of response was typical from Thompson. As if to highlight his slow witted nature, these nonsensical answers were the best that Thompson could come up with even after several moments of serious consideration and intense thought between the time he heard the question and his proffered response.
It would seem that Fred Thompson has staked out his positions on key issues, and he will stick with those positions regardless of reality. For example, when asked about the potential for an economic recession, Thompson responded “I think there is no reason to believe that we’re heading for a recessions. We’re enjoying 22 quarters of successive economic growth.” While his optimism is laudable, it would be nice to know if Thompson is at least cognizant that economic conditions are changing and that there is a legitimate threat of a recession.
To his credit, Thompson did have a couple clever remarks that created a bit of laughter, but overall his performance was lacking. He certainly did not demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the issues that would be expected from the President of the United States.
In a 2003 interview in the Nashville Bar Journal, Fred Thompson was asked about running for president. He responded, “I was never really willing to pay the price I knew had to be paid. I would really have to strain hard to come up with something I wanted to say ten times a day for the next year of my life when I knew that talking about the really important stuff would not get me anywhere. You have to have a great desire to be president, and I never had the desire to do that.”
It’s too bad Fred Thompson changed his mind between 2003 and 2007.
To be notified of new articles on this blog, send an e-mail to richard.stevens47@yahoo.com with “Subscribe” in the subject line.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Fred Thompson: Republicans Can Do Better
Fred Dalton Thompson managed to get many conservatives salivating back in the beginning of April 2007 when he announced there was a 50-50 chance that he would run for president. Admittedly, I was one of the masses excited about the prospect. However, after this announcement, Thompson did essentially nothing to promote his candidacy for about 5 months. Meanwhile, the other candidates were out working hard to educate potential voters about their positions. I can think of only 2 reasons for the absence of Thompson during this time period.
1. Fred Thompson is lazy. If this is the reason, there could be 3 causes. First, it may be that Thompson does not have the stamina to endure a long campaign. Second, Thompson may have been so confident in his nomination that he did not feel it worth his effort to campaign for an extended period of time. Third, Thompson may have been wishy-washy about running at all, in which case his indecision indicates a lack of effort on his part to assimilate the information necessary to make what is likely the most important decision of his life in a timely manner. At any rate, the presidency merits more than a half-hearted effort, and a lazy, indecisive campaigner will have no chance against either Clinton or Obama in a presidential race.
2. Fred Thompson knew his campaign couldn't withstand scrutiny during a long campaign. While Thompson was enjoying life doing nothing more stressful than the occasional cameo on Paul Harvey’s News and Comment, the rest of Republican field has been subjected to intense scrutiny by the media and public. In particular, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have been under a microscope as their every action and statement has been evaluated, and their leadership records as governor and mayor have been questioned. Fred Thompson had a particularly non-distinguished record as a senator, and he isn’t known for his wit, intellect, or innovative ideas. Consequently, Thompson may have realized that the longer he is in the spotlight, the more people would recognize his lack of experience and ability. If this is the case, Thompson wisely chose to limit the amount of time that the public would have to get to know him before the Republican primary. Unfortunately for Thompson, the presidential race will be much less forgiving than the Republican primary.
Since Thompson is either lazy or can’t withstand scrutiny (or both), I certainly will not vote for Thompson in the Republican primary. I would also encourage anyone who is not looking forward to another Clinton presidency to support a more viable Republican candidate. While I may not be particularly enamored with Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, or other Republican candidates, at least I have had the opportunity to listen to them establish their positions on variety of issues and engage in debates. Additionally, while I may not agree with them on many issues, I am fully confident that any one of them would be better than another President Clinton. They have also demonstrated that they will put forth the effort necessary to run a strong presidential campaign against the Democratic nominee. Conversely, Fred Thompson has done nothing to engender confidence in his ability to be president nor in his ability to run an effective presidential campaign.
Now that Fred Thompson has finally entered the Republican primary, it is evident that he is woefully unprepared for the challenge. Following are a few examples:
1. Fred Thompson was asked by a reporter, “What’s harder, playing the president or being the president?” After thinking hard for a moment, Fred Thompson replied, “Well, neither of ‘em are that hard.” With a reply like that, it’s tough to believe that Fred Thompson adequately understands the responsibilities and demands of the presidential office.
2. When Fred Thompson was asked about Louisiana’s “Jena Six” protest, his response was, “I don’t know anything about it.” Given the extensive media coverage of this incident, he may very well be the only person in the United States who hadn’t heard about it. It is a bit disconcerting that someone running for president would be so out of touch with what is happening in the country he wants to govern.
3. While campaigning, Fred Thompson has made it clear that he does not understand local issues. While in Michigan, he was asked what he would do for the state, but he replied that he didn’t have any specific plans for Michigan. When questioned by reporters in Florida, he admitted he didn’t know much about the issues of hurricane property insurance or drilling in the Everglades, both of which are huge issues for the state. Fred Thompson is going to have a tough time in a presidential race convincing people that they will benefit from his presidency if he is not aware of local issues that are most important to them.
The Republicans may not have the perfect candidate, but they sure have a lot of options better than Fred Thompson. And if the Republicans want to have a chance in the 2008 presidential election, they’ll have to do a lot better than Fred Thompson.
1. Fred Thompson is lazy. If this is the reason, there could be 3 causes. First, it may be that Thompson does not have the stamina to endure a long campaign. Second, Thompson may have been so confident in his nomination that he did not feel it worth his effort to campaign for an extended period of time. Third, Thompson may have been wishy-washy about running at all, in which case his indecision indicates a lack of effort on his part to assimilate the information necessary to make what is likely the most important decision of his life in a timely manner. At any rate, the presidency merits more than a half-hearted effort, and a lazy, indecisive campaigner will have no chance against either Clinton or Obama in a presidential race.
2. Fred Thompson knew his campaign couldn't withstand scrutiny during a long campaign. While Thompson was enjoying life doing nothing more stressful than the occasional cameo on Paul Harvey’s News and Comment, the rest of Republican field has been subjected to intense scrutiny by the media and public. In particular, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have been under a microscope as their every action and statement has been evaluated, and their leadership records as governor and mayor have been questioned. Fred Thompson had a particularly non-distinguished record as a senator, and he isn’t known for his wit, intellect, or innovative ideas. Consequently, Thompson may have realized that the longer he is in the spotlight, the more people would recognize his lack of experience and ability. If this is the case, Thompson wisely chose to limit the amount of time that the public would have to get to know him before the Republican primary. Unfortunately for Thompson, the presidential race will be much less forgiving than the Republican primary.
Since Thompson is either lazy or can’t withstand scrutiny (or both), I certainly will not vote for Thompson in the Republican primary. I would also encourage anyone who is not looking forward to another Clinton presidency to support a more viable Republican candidate. While I may not be particularly enamored with Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, or other Republican candidates, at least I have had the opportunity to listen to them establish their positions on variety of issues and engage in debates. Additionally, while I may not agree with them on many issues, I am fully confident that any one of them would be better than another President Clinton. They have also demonstrated that they will put forth the effort necessary to run a strong presidential campaign against the Democratic nominee. Conversely, Fred Thompson has done nothing to engender confidence in his ability to be president nor in his ability to run an effective presidential campaign.
Now that Fred Thompson has finally entered the Republican primary, it is evident that he is woefully unprepared for the challenge. Following are a few examples:
1. Fred Thompson was asked by a reporter, “What’s harder, playing the president or being the president?” After thinking hard for a moment, Fred Thompson replied, “Well, neither of ‘em are that hard.” With a reply like that, it’s tough to believe that Fred Thompson adequately understands the responsibilities and demands of the presidential office.
2. When Fred Thompson was asked about Louisiana’s “Jena Six” protest, his response was, “I don’t know anything about it.” Given the extensive media coverage of this incident, he may very well be the only person in the United States who hadn’t heard about it. It is a bit disconcerting that someone running for president would be so out of touch with what is happening in the country he wants to govern.
3. While campaigning, Fred Thompson has made it clear that he does not understand local issues. While in Michigan, he was asked what he would do for the state, but he replied that he didn’t have any specific plans for Michigan. When questioned by reporters in Florida, he admitted he didn’t know much about the issues of hurricane property insurance or drilling in the Everglades, both of which are huge issues for the state. Fred Thompson is going to have a tough time in a presidential race convincing people that they will benefit from his presidency if he is not aware of local issues that are most important to them.
The Republicans may not have the perfect candidate, but they sure have a lot of options better than Fred Thompson. And if the Republicans want to have a chance in the 2008 presidential election, they’ll have to do a lot better than Fred Thompson.
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