All About Fred

Political Animal 61 Comments

At the Corner tonight.

We’ll know soon–in my judgment, Thompson need only sustain this performance for a couple of days before votes, and money, start moving in his direction. But tonight the one consistent and authentic conservative in this race made himself the man to watch. When Fred roars, he roars.

I missed the debates. Too bad, because he’s getting rave reviews.

Winner: Thompson. This performance was so commanding, I wanted his last answer to echo back to the lights in the back of the auditorium, blow out all the lamps and spotlights, for the theme to “the Natural” to play, and for him to trot around the stage in slow motion while sparks showered down in the background.

Also weighing in Brendon Loy, and this from the New York Times blog;

Mr. Thompson rocks tonight. Asked about the recent confrontation between United States warships and Iranian speedboats, he suggests casually that if Iran’s Revolutionary Guard becomes more hostile, the Iranians will see those virgins they’ve been looking for.

Clips at Hotair.

61 Replies to “All About Fred”

  2. It is not surprising that Thompson did well tonight. He does not do well in the eyes of media because lack of spin.
    He let it be known that is serious and is not playing nor is going to play games. Thompson seems to have held back his knowledge of how Washington works. From his participation in the debate it is clear that he has more gravity than a few of them put together. Thompson is basically a no nonsense kind of guy.

  3. Yes, Thompson got his message across tonight. His philosophy of government is closer to mine than is any of the other candidates and only time will tell if his success extends past this debate.


  4. Mark Steyn references     Kate McMillan and SDA in conversation with Hugh Hewitt:

    Kate McMillan, who’s a blogger in Saskatchewan, posted a terrific picture that she sent me on her website of John McCain holding up one of these ridiculous global warming signs. I do not want a Republican candidate who essentially believes in the left wing, big government, eco-activist solutions to global warming. I’m sorry about that. I understand that you can finesse the issues in some ways, but he isn’t finessing the issue, he’s just basically signed onto the eco-global warmongering Kool-Aid on that one, and I just don’t want that.

  5. As a Canadian with no say in American politics(although it may affect me as much as who our Prime Minister is) I think this Thompson guy is the best, by far, candidate.
    What a cool concept……say what you mean, not what you think people want to hear.
    Say what you think will be the greater good, not what will appease enough to get you elected.
    And most of all, not taking any crap.
    Good qualities to lead the most powerful nation on earth and to keep it there, I think

  7. Huckabee reminds me too much of a cross dressing rafter, Rudy has my respect as mayor of NY during 9/11 but if I were American I wouldn’t vote for him. McCain is a war hero but I wouldn’t vote for him. Rommey and Paul don’t interest me at all but there is something about Fred that although he comes across as down home he has a kind of folksy wisdom that I find refreshing after all these years of PC nuanced pap. I find his persona similar to Regan when Regan was pummelling Carter. Needless to say my choice is Fred.

  8. I liked Mr. Thompson, as a personality, from before this election cycle. Then, once he threw his hat in, I read more about his history, and found I liked him as a person (or a least to the degree that one can without first-hand knowledge). Then he put out his policies and positions, and I found I agreed with most of them, either personally, or because I thought that, pace me, they would be good for his country.
    When Mr. Thompson entered this campaign, the MSM referred to him as an actor. Then, once word got out anyway, they referred to him as an actor and former senator. When was the last time you saw the MSM mention that he was a Watergate prosecutor? Between the MSM sound-bite got’cha mentality, and the lassitude of the modern voter, it can be difficult for real quality candidates to get their message across. Not just Mr. Thompson, all honorable men.
    One thing that we can use to help alleviate this problem is the easier on-line availability of in-depth candidate interviews. Charlie Rose, for example, interviewed many of the candidates last month. I can recommend his 2007-12-04 interview with Mr. Thompson, available here:
    youtube.com/watch?v=OjUEBskp4L0
    I think that Mr. Thompson’s antipathy to MSM misbehaviour, combined with the accessability of his style, the quality of his policies, and the solidity of his reputation and honesty, are the reasons why Mr. Thompson should be seriously considered by anyone fortunate enough to be able to vote in this election.

  11. Yes, it is interesting that the MSM calls him an actor and dismisses him. Very, very seldom does he get the exposure that a candidate of his standing should get. This guy might just win all the marbles in this game.
    I’ve been a Friend of Fred since his campaign started and even though I’m not American, I’m supporting Fred. I thought that Fred/McCain would be a good ticket but after seeing McCain with the Global Warming sign, I’m not sure.
    Go Fred Go!!!!

  12. RON PAUL!
    The only true Republican running.
    Fred Thompson is just an actor! And I’m not talking about his previous career – he pretends to be a strong leader but waffles on nearly everything. When did he even enter the race, anyway?

  14. Go Fred Go!
    Fred has taken the best of the Regan mantle and run with it. He was dead to rights by suggesting the concept of limited government and strong defence was very much alive as a political platform.
    No nonsense, on point, good grasp of the issues, he would get my vote if I were an American.

  16. I don’t know Fred Thompson. I don’t know his record, I’ve only really seen him in the movies.
    However the fearful nature of the MSM coverage gives me hope. Any politician they cover with fear and loathing, that’s my guy.
    Notice how they -love- Mr. McCain. Love the guy. That can’t be good.

  17. Another Fred quote that’s fitting for the time we’re living in…….”We have to be a country of high fences and wide gates, and we get to decide when the gates are open and who comes in”.

  19. I cannot imagine a nightmare which would see Americans vote in Hillary as President when there is an alternative like Fred Thompson. It would amount to sheer lunacy.

  20. Fred has a handle on what’s going on, no doubt about that, he has the answers too.
    Watching a YouTube clip from Tuesday at a Jewish Coalition group he said something the Leftoids in this country need to hear especially regarding their fetish to get out of Afghanistan….
    He said “The will of the people to prevail is at least as important as their military might”.
    Another truth he stated…”the nutcases are not the only ones who have free speech”.
    Go Fred! We need you! The world needs you!

  21. I missed this debate but watched the facebook New Hampshire one last week and must say there are some good choices for the republicans in the US. Even their most ‘liberal’ candidate is more conservative than most of the Canadian Conservatives. I love Fred’s attitude but my favorite quote comes from a previous debate. When question on public health care Rudy’s comment was if the US went for socialized health care where would canadians go
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8_MNjG6pOE

  22. Thompson’s purpose is to split the GOP vote and let Rudy run up the center…yawn.
    My only hope in this whole stage managed farce is that the leading candidates see the populist rally and support that Paul got and they adopt some of his better ideas like monetary reform, taking illegal immigration and the trade deficit seriously and reigning in big government.
    10 weeks after the presidential election Thompson’s dilettante republicanism will be forgotten by the new regime, but they can’t ignore the populist groundswell that supported Paul’s constitutional revivalist message…..smaller more responsible transparent constitutional government, credit and debt control and severing ties with UN interventionism.

  23. WLMR: My only hope in this whole stage managed farce is that the leading candidates see the populist rally and support that Paul got and they adopt some of his better ideas like monetary reform, taking illegal immigration and the trade deficit seriously and reigning in big government.
    Freudian typo there, my man?

  24. Fred is clearly the best candidate to surface in the US in a long time. His honesty, confidence, purpose, and conservative values make him an ideal president. If he does not become President, and it appears almost certain that he will not, this will be a further demonstration of how Americans have lost sight of the values (principally individual freedom, economic certainty, and lack of big government)that have given them the standard of living that is enjoyed by them to today, and envied by the rest of the world. The same could be said for Canadians, if not worse.

  25. I watched. Fred won hands down. I’m hoping money starts to roll into his coffers now.
    That little nutball Ron Paul was mesmerizing. Past a few little economic quips with some merit, he’s a maniac on the order of those you don’t make eye contact with on subways. The world outside of Paulville just doesn’t exist for him – cut all funding to Israel and he just couldn’t frame the Iranian navy’s menacing our ship as a problem. Getting a straight answer out of the little nutball was like nailing jello to a tree. Brit Hume at one point lost it with him. His moonbat minions pulled another of their notorious poll jammings later which was funny. Where was FOX’s mind in asking the audience to text message their vote?!! RON PAUL!!!!
    Gil – listen up, Reagan was “just an actor”, besides Governor of California, then one of the greatest Presidents we ever had. Fred is another “just an actor”, an attorney/former Senator that once served on the Watergate Committee, later on the multiple armed services/foreign intelligence committees. Only the Coen brothers could do justice to the Ron Paul Story.

  26. Fred Thompson lost New Hampshire to the write-in candidates and he lost to them badly. And while it seems everything around here that goes bad for conservatives is automatically blamed on “The Media”, when you lose that badly to write-in candidates, surely, you have to start facing reality at some point. No?

  27. Ted, we are allowed to dream and hope, aren’t we? Or, since you’re a Liberal, does it mean that you aren’t ALLOWED to back underdogs?
    We have read the news, dude…we’re not illiterate…we know how he fared. Many of us still see him as the best candidate, regardless of his “numbers”.

  28. Ted, that was then, this is now. Still not getting it, Iowa and NH are tiny rural states that lead off our primaries, nothing more. The primary process is a year long. A year. The primaries are a fluid ever shifting process, that’s the point of primaries – ongoing candidate exposure to voters over a period of time.
    Fred put no time, money or energy into NH. With the rest of the states to go, what’s the reality to face in NH?
    Geez.

  29. KevinB:
    “Freudian typo there, my man?”
    No just a typo…not everything is a conspiracy 😉

  30. It’s got to be difficult for people like Ted to understand anything close to common sense or reason, as evidenced by his posts.
    Blinders and rose colored glasses seem the order of the day for the Left and they’d like to impose them on us all.
    We are still free to admire or back whoever we deem worthy after listening, reading and making our own deductions.
    It’s very early on in a very lengthy process. You can’t pick a winner or loser with the first hoof out of the gate.

  31. “It’s very early on in a very lengthy process. You can’t pick a winner or loser with the first hoof out of the gate.”
    Ha! And you accuse me of wearing blinders and rose coloured glasses.
    I don’t have a problem with people preferring Thompson or wanting him to win. My comments were addressed to those who actually think he CAN win, at least this year.
    When the field has so many candidates and you lose badly to the write-in candidates, your campaign is done.

  32. Why does this Ted guy get responses? Who are you troll baiters who keep feeding this guy? It is clear he knows nothing, yet you insist on replying. The only logical conclusion is sock puppet theater.

  33. Fred had no chance in Iowa or New Hampshire. His first chance, and almost a requirement is to win in South Carolina. So he has now raised his game. Everyhting before was training and practice.
    We will see if laconinc Fred can maintain his “fire”. This may well have been the plan all along. Fred is a Reagan conservative….more than any of the others. Fiscally conservative, governs by boiled down priciples, Foreign Policy wise he is a tactical realist but a strategic idealist….Bush is both a tacticla nad strategic idealist, Nixon was strategic and tacical realist.
    He is a social policy modrate….meaning he will follow his society, not lead it on social policy…you will hear code words out of him but this means no ideologically based social policy changes. Guiding priciple seems to be personal responsibility.
    Mccain is likely to melt down at some point. I think Fred is the sleeper, literally and figuratively, in the GOP campaign.
    I think he would piss Hillary off enough that she wouldnt play well against him. Against Obama….tougher call. It would be nice to see an election based on voting for positives rather voting against someone and I think that election Thompson Obama would be one of those elections. Both are optimistic, both have a positive messgae about America…I dont think either of them really “hate” anyone and it is hard to dislike either, no matter what you think of their policies or parties.
    I like Fred more and more….good see the ‘A’ game finally show.

  34. McCain is an old, old, old man who wants to become president to get even for his rot time in North Vietnam. America owes him eh. You would think that after that ordeal the man would have learned how to live. Being a life-long politician isn’t living your life, it’s controlling the lives of others. I am suspect of a 71 year old control freak continuing to want the top job. That is mental.
    Even if he gets the nod, he won’t beat either Obama or Clinton for big prize. He, like Huck Huckabee (sounds like the name of a village idiot doesn’t it?) and that crazy excitable Ron Paul must be turfed. There are only three possibles who can win, Rudy, Romney or Thompson. I can live with any of those three, but I am afraid I will have to break off relations with the US if any of those others win the big enchilada.

  35. “…if Iran’s Revolutionary Guard becomes more hostile, the Iranians will see those virgins they’ve been looking for.”
    I’ve liked this guy from the time he brutalized Michael Moore, while chomping on a cigar.
    Just look at Fred in comparison to Huckabee, or the left leaning McCain. His stature and plain speak reflects a strong America. Not a lefty wimpville.
    If they named an aircraft carrier after Fred Thompson, it would launch other aircraft carriers. (Read at another blog)
    Go Fred!

  36. John,
    Romney will not win, he is too slick and weak.
    Rudy or Fred can make it.
    I agree with you, McCain would be a disaster.

  37. Yeah, I back Ron Paul and I’m a fraud. Everyone else backs Fred Thompson – who stages his sincerity, acts out his conviction – and they are courageous for backing an underdog?
    Would someone please tell me, beyond Thompson’s phony tough talk, what is so good about him? Besides the Law & Order appearances.

  38. I think the Republicans have offered up a good set of potential candidates, with the exception of Ron Paul who is, quite frankly, demented.
    The point about the Republicans is that they are pragmatic rather than idealistic; they face reality rather than fiction. And, they provide realistic and pragmatic solutions rather than naive campfire dreams.
    Thompson was excellent last night in the debates, but I don’t discount McCain, Romney, Giuliani or Huckabee. Each one is going to trip up on ‘our expectations’. McCain and that dreadful poster in support of Kyotoism, Giuliani and NY as a ‘safe city for alien immigrants..and so on.
    Ron Paul is demented; he’s living in a pre World War era, a pure isolationist, insisting that everyone can look after themselves, needs no help, that help only harms. Up to a certain level, he’s got a good point. If people expect others to pick up after them, they won’t do it on their own. But such a perspective is valid only in the normal everyday world.
    In times of crisis it’s a different situation. If the US hadn’t moved into WWII, for example, either the Germans or Russians would have won; that’s fascism or communism. There’s no way that the Afghan people could have overthrown the totalitarianism of the Taliban on their own. Same with the Soviet Union and its expanding communism. Certainly, communism as an economic mode would eventually have collapsed – but not without essentially destroying most of Europe to an extent that would take centuries to rebuild.
    And this doesn’t speak to the ethical and moral dimensions of ‘staying out of everything’.
    But as to which one would make the best president, I waver from day to day. They all have strengths – and weaknesses, but their strengths far outweigh any perceived weakness.
    As for the Democrats/left, it’s amazing how their candidates represent…well, they represent the typical leftist perspective.
    Hillary Clinton and Obama are two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, with Obama, you have the utopian Cloud Dweller. Someone who talks and talks about ‘change’, about ‘the future’, all in general terms that Appeal to the Emotions. Not a shred of pragmatic actions as to exactly how to achieve this Future Purity of Life. But, ahh, how appealing – that Hope For The Future. Everyone immediately bonds to this Hope, ignoring that everyday life doesn’t operate on the same level as these Cloud Dwellers.
    Then, we have Hillary; she’s the other side of the utopian coin. She’s the agential authority in How To Achieve Purity. And the leftist strategy of achieving purity is always the same. Topdown authoritarianism, social engineering, a government that removes all agential decision making from the individual and locates it solely within the hands of The Government.
    The ‘set’ of the two of them – Obama the Cloud Dweller who Talks the Utopian Rhetoric of the left, and Hillary the Dictator who Rules the Peasants – the two of them are icons of the Left.

  40. MaryT, you’re missing some stuff behind your link…everyone will need to go to the WQAD website and navigate from there. By the way, I scored (in order) McCain, Romney and Thompson…my preferred team would be Thompson as POTUS and Romney as VP, so it is a validation of sorts for me.

  41. I have my doubts that Thompson can win but whoever it is who does win is a special level of stupid if they don’t chose Thompson as their running mate.
    Best case in my book would be a combo of Fred and Rudy. My preference would be for Fred in top billing but I’d take it the other way around.
    I doubt either will win the headline spot.
    I think Hillary will take the dem nod and if she does, she’d be a fool not to add Obama to the ticket. I’d hate to see that team win (a nightmare really,) but they most likely would.

  43. Warwick:
    That would indeed be a tough ticket for the Democrats. My guess is Guiliani wins but it is really difficult to call it between the cross dresser, Bob Dole revisited and Sir Change-a-Lot. Huckabee probably still has an outside chance but I’m thinking not. Would Rudy name Thompson? He’s got a lot of ground to make up with the fundamentalists and the economic conservatives and Thompson, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t burned bridges with the other candidates by being too negative so maybe. On Fred’s downside though, he isn’t exactly pulling in the Republican votes as it is so why would anyone think he could pull in more votes during an election is a huge question mark.
    I disagree though that Clinton would put Obama on the ticket. Clinton is from Illinois and has been elected in NY, and it is never a good idea to have a VP who is oratorically so superior to you, plus he doesn’t give her many votes that she wouldn’t already be getting. So they would probably need someone from the south and I would bet a white male southerner. Maybe Edwards. Who knows, maybe Harry Reid!!!

  44. Reiterating ET, besides this not so minor problem, Ron Paul fails to notice the the US is the last world power left standing, the only Good Cop on a global scale with the enforcement means standing between the deranged and dangerous in this world. Libertarianism looks great in theory, deserves some consideration in social and economic paradigms, but, like ET points out it’s useless and dangerous as applied to foreign policy.
    Warwick – I’m betting on a Hillary/Obama ticket. The Dems must have the black vote. They are dead if they cut Obama loose. As a Republican, it’s why I hope he defeats her in the primaries and leads the ticket, a long shot I know. The Hildabeast would never lower herself to VP status.

  45. Fred won but…
    Does he really want the job?
    Last night was perhaps the first time he acted like he did. Maybe it was the warmer southern and conservative audience (and temperature – it was 72F in Mrtle beach last night) that put him in the mood.
    His win comes not a moment too soon and if he gets a bounce out of it in SC -a string second or hell maybe even a win – he has time – ten days – and SC voters are known for being very quick to change allegiances if they see a better option.
    There is no doubt that there is a hunger in the GOP for a viable, conservative, PARTY candidate who can win in Nov. Hick and JM do not fit the bill and RG is not considered conservative enough by many, although I think they are wrong on that.
    Perhaps, just maybe, Fred is the guy. If he wins it will easily be the greatest longshot win ever.

  46. In keeping with my previous comment, I chanced to see the front cover of The Economist today. Deck of cards theme (perhaps in keeping with the Iraq Deck?) they’ve got Obama and Clinton in big up on top, with McCain and Romney, and a couple more Dems on there in small, Fred Thompson is not featured.
    Now it may be that The Economist thinks like Ted, that Thompson doesn’t have a chance. Or it may be that they’re PRAYING he doesn’t and keeping him off because they can’t stand the thought of him.
    Either way, it makes me like Fred even better. Smaller government, lower taxes, better control of the borders… what’s not to like?

  48. There are a lot of shallow thinkers or MSM echo boxes that figure Fred is an actor who wants to play in politics. They seem to ignore that he is also a lawyer and was a very distinguished politician, holding several key posts during his two terms as senator.
    Thompson is not a flashy, photo op kind of guy and for that the MSM seem to want to dismiss him because he didn’t get that “wow” reaction they were looking for. He is more substance than style. For Canadian similarities look no further than the grumpy image the MSM paints of PM Harper and the outright mocking of Preston Manning (voice and hair cut).
    The best thing I like about fred Thompson is that he never prefaces any statement with 9/11 like New York Rudy. btw, I think Ron Paul is a fry short of a Happy Meal.

  49. Looks like Rudy’s campaign is in financial trouble with the announcement this morning that paid staffers have been asked to work for no pay. If that ultimately means that Rudy will exit the race he could be in line for the VP job should Fred win the nomination. That would be a very acceptable outcome to this observer.

  50. Ted,
    The idea that some doctor-suing, ambulance chasing a-hole like edwards may get the veep slot is as appealing as Jeffrey Dalmer as principle of a boys school.
    edwards personified the reason why lawyers are despised (even though there are 2 or 3 lawyers out there who aren’t scum.)
    If Hillary wins and doesn’t pick Obama the black community may not take it well and the Dems rely on gaining 99.9% of the black vote. They need those people at the polls or they lose. The US is split too closely down the middle to alienate core voters.

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