WASHINGTON (AP) - Fred Thompson, a veteran actor but a newcomer to presidential politics, steps onto a debate stage Tuesday for the first time in a decade.
He’s been practicing for weeks.
Although nine Republicans will take part in the forum, which begins at 4 p.m. EDT in Dearborn, Mich., the focus will be on Thompson, a former Tennessee senator.
A late entry into the race, Thompson has sometimes struggled to answer questions on the campaign trail in his initial weeks as a full-fledged candidate.
He’s no stranger to the small screen. He spent years acting on NBC’s “Law & Order.” But the last time he engaged in a political debate was 1996 during his successful Senate re-election campaign.
Over the past two weeks, Thompson has held seven to nine debate sessions at his McLean, Va., campaign headquarters outside Washington, aides say. In each session, Thompson would answer timed questions on a variety of subjects. Aides then would stop and review answers with him.
Full Story Here:
GOP’s 6th Debate Is Thompson’s 1st
OK, Game ON!! Let’s see if Fred D. Thompson is as good as I hope and pray he is…
I still support Thompson, but I honestly think that Duncan Hunter might be a slightly better candidate overall, I just think Thompson is more electable, and don’t take me wrong, they’re both damn good, we are not settling for the lesser of 2 evils with either one of these guys, but Thompson is a lot better known and is highly electable, at least at this time, Tom Tancredo and Mike Huckabee are really good too, I think either one would be good for America, but again, it’s got a lot to do with being electable, and as good as that whole bunch is, I still think Thompson is the most electable…
But if Fred Thompson wants to WIN, he has got to come out very STRONG, that down home good ol’ boy act isn’t gonna cut it all by itself, he’s got to be strong, he’s got to be very precise and he’s got to maintain his composure, and he MUST get specific, all that “Well, I’ve heard some people say…” stuff we heard when he was testing the waters isn’t going get him to the Oval Office, I don’t give a damn what some people have said, I want to know what HE has to say and where HE stands and I want to see some clear battle lines drawn, it’s time to establish a strong presence and a new frontrunner could easily emerge if Thompson does well…
Feint heart ne’er won fair lady, and lukewarm isn’t going to win the White House, give em hell Fred and make us all proud, you already have the fair lady, now it’s time to kick ass and take names…
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In truth F/T has not impressed me so far. He’s going to really have to set the stage on fire and support what I support before he’ll have me convinced. I’m not voting for the lesser of two evils again, even if that means I don’t vote at all.
I also have to say that I’m so cynical and burnt out with politics in general its going to be hard to impress me.
You said it! Fred has a chance to put us that are on the fence on one side solidly.
A lot of us are sitting on the fence between F.T and Hunter.
Tancredo while a GREAT Candidate IMO, doesn’t have a chance.
This debate can give one of them a Serious jump, I hope it is ether F.T or Hunter.
And I hope to see Ron Paul get his ass handed to him.
Personally, I believe Hunter is the best choice for a Conservative candidate but like you said, Fred is more electable. But, I haven’t found anything yet on which I disagree with Fred on. That’s why I would love to see a Thompson/Hunter ticket.
I wonder if Huckabee might not be a better choice…just wondering, dont throw any bricks at me please.
Love ya,
lets do lunch hehe.
Sage, actually, I think Huckabee is a GREAT choice, I just don’t know if he has ‘electability’…
And Thompson has got to show some serious STUFF now, there is NO room for weakness, and if he’s not going for a WIN I won’t support him, in ANY way…
And lunch sounds great, any Monday, if you’re buying it’s sounds even better…
Fred,
I realize how much you want Thompson to turn out to be our Golden Boy but then I read this.
Thompson’s New Top Advisor: Elizabeth Cheney.
Ms. Cheney, whose father is Vice President Dick Cheney, was until recently principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Her foreign policy credentials can only help Mr. Thompson, and her family ties can help him build a bridge to the current administration, said Keith Harper, founder of the Web site FredHeads.com.
Help build bridge to the current administration, WTF?
Current Administration?
Isn’t this the Administration that dropped the ball in Afghanistan?
Isn’t this the Administration that will NOT not do what it takes to win in Iraq?
Isn’t this the Administration that didn’t and won’t close our borders?
Isn’t this the Administration that let Mexican Truck Drivers enter our country?
Isn’t this the Administration that wants a New World Order?
Isn’t this the Administration that wants the North American Tready?
I find Mr. Thompson to be nothing more then a puppet for Bush and Cheney. In Fact, I find him to be nothing more then George W. Bush with actors make-up on.
I’m sorry Fred, I will not be supporting Fred Thompson.
I like Huckabee — I just don’t think he can pull it off. And Fred? He’d best get in there with some ENTHUSIASM and ENERGY or he’ll kill it before it even has a chance to roll. I am waiting.
BZ
Yabba Dabba Doo - Fred Joins the Debate
This is a long post so bear with me.
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson doesn’t need to have a good debate performance Tuesday night. He needs to KNOCK THE COVER OFF THE BALL. He needs to beat the rest of the field BY TEN TOUCHDOWNS.
The Thompson campaign is wisely playing the expectations game.
“We think that we’ll hold our own, but obviously every other candidate on the stage has been going to these debates all year long. They’ve already gone through their preseason. This is our first scrimmage,” said Todd Harris, a Thompson spokesman. “The most important thing for us is for Fred’s message and answers to connect with Republican voters and that has been our focus.”
With all due respect, this is not the preseason and it is not a scrimmage. If you want to stay with sports metaphors, Thompson was a contract holdout and missed the entire training camp and pre-season. But this is the pros and it is time to put up or shut up or perhaps more appropriately, win or go home.
Thompson was going to announce in July, then August and then in time for the New Hampshire debate. He missed all those self-imposed deadlines because of campaign staff shake-ups and fundraising that while respectable, fell far short of expectations. His stump speeches and other media appearances have fallen short of expectations as well. This is Thompson’s first exposure on the national stage that isn’t scripted by writers for Law and Order.
Based on my reading of background questions from various polls, I get the sense that, to use an old political phrase, his support is a mile wide but only an inch deep. Without a great debate performance, I believe a lot of that pond is going to dry up.
â€All his missteps and his laid-back style of campaigning is taking a toll on the early enthusiasm with which his candidacy was received.â€
According to Dick Morris writing for The Hill that Fred is Fading, Thompson’s numbers among likely Republican voters are falling. Not precipitously but falling none the less and that is not a good sign. It is especially not a good sign when it coincides with the calendar which indicated that more and more voters are actually focusing on the race.
Thompson also needs a great debate performance to mollify hard-line conservatives over his support of McCain-Feingold. Given the vitriol aimed at Senator McCain on pro Fred blogs and other political sites over McCain-Feingold it will be interesting to see how Thompson’s full throated support will play out with his supporters. As John Gizzi writes in a recent article in Human Events…
Fred Thompson finally made clear his position on the statist campaign finance restrictions embodied in the McCain-Feingold bill. And conservatives are clearly not going to be pleased.
When the former star of TV’s “Law and Order” series and newly-minted presidential candidate spoke to reporters on the porch of the Grand Hotel here, I asked Thompson whether he was proud of his role in enacting the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation in ’01.
“Yes,” replied the former Tennessee senator without hesitation. “You will recall that the central part of the legislation was getting rid of soft money [from the political process].”
Fred Thompson either needs to win the Michigan Debate and win it big or he needs to hope that there are no rotund operatic sopranos warming up their vocal chords
Well, here’s my BOTTOM LINE on this, Thompson better come out there eating nails and shitting steel bars or I will be done…
Well, Are you shitting bars or done?
They more like Pig Iron than steel… He’s gotta turn up the heat…