Oh Fred, Fred. Wherefore Art Thou Fred Thompson?

Well, it's now December 2007 and we are just 4 weeks away from the first major primary in Iowa on January 3rd. And this story is not new. We conservatives had waited and waited and no not so patiently all last summer for our Fred Thompson to finally and officially throw his hat in the ring and announce his candidacy for President. And alas seasons change and that day finally came one September evening on the Jay Leno Show, but we conservatives worried about Fred's timing. Some experts tried to reassure us that Fred's late entrance was a sound strategic move that would allow him to seem fresh to the electorate, but was it really? He'd missed all that time on the campaign trail pressing palms not to mention countless GOP debates. We all knew Fred had a lot of ground to make up, but was it too much? And so now that the holiday season is here to distract us until the Iowa caucuses I am still asking myself: "Oh Fred, Fred. Wherefore art thou Fred Thompson?"

You see I liken Fred Thompson to some hero in a Shakespearean play---only I just can't say as yet how Fred's story will end. Will it be a comedy or a tragedy? I find myself watching the republican analysts discussing the GOP field and it seems no matter who is being interviewed be it Ann Coulter or even Fred's own Mary Matalin, the interviewer never pushes on the one question I want the experts to answer: "Why isn't Fred Thompson doing better in the polls?" In all fairness, Tim Russert did touch on this lightly with Mary Matalin two weeks ago on Meet The Press. However, Tim allowed Mary to provide us with the same old canned campaign response that "Fred remains #2 in the national polls." But let's face it unless Fred wins some major primaries he will not be our nominee. It's all but a given that Fred has no chance in Iowa or New Hampshire, so we conservatives look to next February's Super Tuesday with high hopes because his campaign tells us that's when Fred will start to move up dramatically in the polls. But will he?

Conservatives remember with fondness this same time in 1999 when George W. Bush was clearly our man. Now in 2007 we look anxiously at the broad field of GOP nominees and know in our hearts that there is not even one frontrunner for us conservatives to love. Romney….Giuliani? They are both all too blue for the conservative base. McCain? Don't even get me started. He threw us under the bus too many times over the last 8 years and we conservatives like our symbolic party elephant do not forget. So when McCain and the rest of the field eventually bow out just who will benefit? I have to believe that Fred could be the beneficiary if he himself manages to keep his horse in the race.

For the record, well it looks pretty grim, I have not yet given up on Fred Thompson. As I noted in my article: "The Hillary 24/7 Show" while Fred may not end up our GOP nominee for President he could still earn a VP nod. I can't help but recognize some similarities with our current VP Dick Cheney – at this stage in their careers both very experienced in Washington insider politics and both plagued by some serious health concerns.

And so my question remains unanswered: Why isn't Fred Thompson doing better? What is the primary (no pun intended) reason? I can think of many potential answers to the question and maybe its some combination of them all. Let's consider the possibilities:

-He's too late to the race and is not likely to deliver a come from behind win.
-His campaign team is an administrative mess despite having that gem Mary Matalin on board.
-He is lackluster in debates---the real Fred Thompson just isn't as powerful as his Law & Order persona.
-He has health issues and though in remission his lymphoma is still troubling.
-The Lazy Factor: He just doesn't seem to want it as badly as Giuliani or Romney

So since the answer to my question apparently is not forthcoming from anywhere else I turn once again to you my fellow viners. I ask you to please participate in my LISAED poll. Tell me what is the number one reason why Fred Thompson continues to lag. I thank you for once again sharing with me your opinions and Happy Holidays!

Relevant Link: "The Hillary 24/7 Show"/ http://lisaed.newsvine.com/_news/2007/10/04/1003172-the-hillary-247-show

Back To Top

A Visit From Fred Thompson. posted by Curt on December 1, 2007 at 2:30 PM

Flopping Aces

Sun Dec 2

1