Fred Is Out

Fred is out.

Which is a shame. But it's not like it was unexpected.

Bob Krumm wrote up an excellent piece yesterday documenting where the Thompson Campaign went wrong, What might have been . . . and what was:

We can only wonder what might have been, but we can analyze what was. And so here are ten lessons that we can take away from Fred’s campaign.

...

1. Hit the ground running. ... 2. Showmanship sells. ... 3. Never skip New Hampshire. ... 4. The best time to kick a man [McCain] is when he’s down. ... 5. Politics is a blood sport. ... 6. Since the media only print sentences don’t talk in paragraphs. ... 7. Every candidate needs a few friends in the media. ... 8. Like Dixville Notch, the internet picks losers. ... 9. If it’s the most important problem, but it doesn’t have a good solution, it’s not an important issue. ... 10. Build a base.

...

One final thought. Much will be made of Fred’s delayed entry to the race being the cause of his defeat. (Keep in mind that many of those making the case will be professional campaigners and pundits who directly benefit from extended campaigns.) I don’t think he began too late at all. Furthermore, I really wish he had won so that we could hold back this urge to begin campaigns earlier and earlier every four years. It’s like seeing Christmas decorations go up in the stores right after Labor Day. I hate it.

Fred’s start date, however, did mean that he wouldn’t be able to fail. At all. John McCain failed miserably. He was at zero– zero support, zero money, and zero staff—right about the time that Fred jumped in to the race. McCain made lots of mistakes in the previous year, but he has made the best of his second start. The manner in which Fred entered the race meant that he didn’t have time for a restart. He had to do it right the first time, and he didn’t. Oh, what might have been . . .

It's kind of sad that how-you-campaign seems to carry more weight than the policies you offer, but, alas, the world's not fair. To the extent Fred's campaign forced the other candidates to push conservatism, and to the degree he utterly exposed Mike "Give Fred Thompson Some Metamucil!" Huckabee as being anything but conservative, well - Fred, thanks for running.

Thompson's Closing Argument in SC

He nails it.

I've been meaning to (and still intend to) give a more in-depth review of where I currently stand on the candidates. The short of it is, if I could appoint one of these nominees to be our next president, Fred most surely would be the guy. His apparently lack of ability to run a compelling campaign is a huge concern, given what's about to come following the primaries, though.

But, for now, "always conservative", "against amnesty", "low taxes", "100% pro-life", "strong military" ... 3 cheers for the only consistent Fiscal- (and Federalist-), Foreign Policy-, and Social- Conservative in the race.

Fred Announces

I'm late to this game (mentioning the announcement) by almost a full day. I'm obviously glad Fred's officially in the race. A viable, consistent conservative is in the race -- at long last.

Here's his announcement video:

A bit long winded perhaps, but it's refreshing to hear a candidate actually get outside of sound bites. It's even better when the discourse is on the challenges America faces and how the virtues of conservatism can overcome them. I love it.

Win Fred Win!

Thompson Announces (the date he'll announce)

Got the e-mail an hour and a half hour ago, An Important Announcement from Friends of Fred Thompson:

Dear Friends,

On September 6, 2007, Fred Thompson will be announcing his intention to run for President of the United States with a webcast available to millions at www.imwithfred.com. The launch of the video will be followed by a five-day campaign tour through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. On the evening of the 6th, there will also be a National House Party, during which there will be a conference call with Fred.

We enter this campaign in a strong position. Fred is consistently near the top in the polls, and conservatives across the country have put together the closest thing to a draft in recent presidential campaign history in an effort to bring about this day. The next few weeks will only serve to build upon those efforts, with house parties, visits to the early primary states, and a homecoming in Lawrenceburg, TN on the 15th. To view the dates and locations of Fred's bus tour, please click here, and check back soon for more information on attending one of these events.

By announcing via webcast, Fred is able to take his consistently mainstream conservative message directly to the voters, who are already responding to that message with a strong upwelling of grassroots support. The webcast and the following campaign tour will play to Fred’s strengths, a consistent record of conservatism, his ability to clearly spread his message, and his ability to work with and connect with Americans from all walks of life. Be apart of this historic occasion by signing up to host or attend a house party today.

Sincerely,

Bill Lacy
Manager, Friends of Fred Thompson, Inc.

Google-ing after reading the e-mail has led me to learn the "professional" bloggers have known this since this afternoon. Reaction is mixed which I think is deserved. It's sort of a non-event.

And I'm actually a bit disappointed. Last night I started thinking that if he didn't announce soon, it was going to serious cast doubt on how much I wanted to continue supporting him. ("Show people you are serious, already!") So, with regard to that, the fact he's finally going to be an official candidate: "Wahoo!" and "about time!".

I don't like the timing he chose though. At all.

There is a (Chris Wallace hosted, none-the-less) Republican Debate scheduled for the 5th. Rumors/announcements were even made that Thompson would attend it. Now he's apparently ducking it though. Why not announce Labor day and ride the announcement into the debate? Thompson's still my #1 hope for '08. It just feels a little weak is all.

(Also debate-related and disappointing, the Republican CNN/YouTube debate has been pushed back to November.)

This means once Thompson announces we'll have to wait three whole weeks to actually seem him engage other candidates in a debate. Annoying. Disappointing. And I certainly hope Fred shows up on the 27th and absolutely dazzles them. As a supporter, I'm expecting big things from an extra three weeks of prep time. Please Fred, don't disappoint!.

Update:

It dawns on me that September 6th is an even worse day to announce that I even initially realized. The Thompson campaign wants people to have house parties on the 6th from 7:30 - 9:00PM on the 6th. Your average American Joe is decidedly not available then as the NFL regular season kicks off at 8:30PM.

Fred - I'm pulling for you. I really am. But announcing a day after a Republican debate people claimed you'd attend and on the night of the kick off of the NFL season? Com'on!

Thompson on Federalism

It's nice to see a candidate discussing governing philosophy, not just the media-hyped issue of the day. Here Fred Thompson does an excellent job explaining the benefits of Federalism. I have a suspicion that Thompson's federalist political ideology is a big part of why Jon Henke is supporting him.

(More @ I'm With Fred).

Conservative Red Meat From Fred!

Fred Thompson To Announce in July? Or Not?

I think there is some wisdom in not announcing as early as the current batch of front runners have. I think a lot of people are already sick of hearing the names Obama, Romney, Hillary, McCain, Edwards, and Rudy. But a late announcement lends itself to all sorts of rumors as to when the announcement will happen, so, to that extend, I hope Thompson announces sooner or later. Apparently his intentions are clear though, quoting The Tennessean:

Thompson, a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, has been coy about his intentions with audiences, but made clear in an interview that he plans to run.

More info/confusion about the whole "Thompson will announce July 4 start accepting contributions June 4" news/rumor:

• Fred Thompson will run, advisers say (Politico)
  
• Fred Thompson will announce his candidacy on the 4th of July (or not - update) (QandO)
  
• Politico: “The Fred has landed” — Thompson to jump in around July 4th; Update: Did Politico get it wrong? (HotAir)

Run, Fred, Run.

Oh, and if you are still undecided on Thompson, I recommend you give his speech to the Lincoln Club of Orange County a read. Good stuff. Solid guy.

Run Fred Run!

From Fred Thompson's announcement about his (symptom free & two years in remission) lymphoma:

The American people have a right to know this. And they have a right to voice their opinions whether they think it's a big deal or not. And I know it's not a big deal as far as my health is concerned, as much as a person can know things like that. But other people have a right to look at it and weigh in and I have a need to factor that into my decision in terms of the reaction I get of that.

Per his request for people to weigh in: my opinion wavers not - I hope, strongly, that Thompson will run. He's legitimately conservative and would give Obama & Hillary a very good run for their money.

I don't want to settle: "Run Fred Run!"