On last night's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", Former Sen. Fred Thompson announced what most of us already knew: "I'm running for President of the United States."
After months of hemming and hawing and waiting for the perfect moment, the GOP's most-hpyed choice for the nomination is now officially in the race.
Yesterday's GOP debate (broadcast by Fox News) brought some gentle chiding from other candidates in the Republican field. "Maybe we're up past his bedtime," Sen. McCain joked.
On last night's Colbert Report, the captions of "The Word" seemed to sum up political sentiment towards Fred Thompson. In describing opening Christmas presents, Colbert likened Thompson to an unopened present still under the tree as February approached, where one could hope and dream about what was inside (caption: Reagan), only until the present was opened and its true contents were revealed (caption: Fred Thompson.).
Is it too late for Thompson? I don't think so. Republicans have expressed dissatisfaction with their choices for President, and at this point in time, most Americans (even likely primary voters) have taken only superficial interest in what figures to be a marathon campaign. National polls are more of a reflection of name recognition and residual opinions than a calculated decision on a candidate of choice (see McCain, John and Hilary, Clinton).
Of course with the game of hopscotch going on with primary dates, the first wave of primaries could take place anytime in December. This of course will benefit firmy established campaigns, so for Thompson wants to win, his campaign will have to be decisive, sharp, and message-oriented -- a 180 from how it is operating right now.
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3 comments:
The press has been very tough on Thompson even before his announcement (his inconsistant record, his former Nixon cronie status, etc). The more people learn about him, the more they're like to be turned off.
Then again, most of Thompson's negatives are probably more applicable to a national election, not a GOP primary. His ties to Nixon may not upset too many Republicans, after all. That said, I don't think he'll provide a much more appealing selection than the current field.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070915/ap_on_el_pr/thompson_prime_time_test
An AP piece highlighting some of what I'm talking about.
Gah, stupid long urls, that's:
/thompson_prime_time_test
at the end there.
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