Fred Thompson: The Stand-Up Guy Who Stood Up Too Late?
In Iowa, the former senator gives us a highlight of the campaign.
By Byron York
National Review Online
Johnston, Iowa — Fred Thompson’s performance at the Des Moines Register Republican debate here in Iowa Wednesday left some supporters — the kind who were enthusiastic early on but who have grown skeptical as his campaign has stumbled — wondering to themselves: Could he still be the best guy, after all that’s happened? As the debate unfolded, there were moments when some of those loyalists began to think the answer might be yes — in spite of everything.
Something has happened to Thompson in recent weeks. Yes, his schedule is still astonishingly light for a presidential candidate. And yes, he sometimes still underwhelms audiences. But in the last month or so Thompson has acted like a man who has been liberated from something. And that is what voters saw on stage Wednesday: a presidential candidate who has declared himself fully free of the stupid stuff one has to do to become president of the United States.
By Byron York
National Review Online
Johnston, Iowa — Fred Thompson’s performance at the Des Moines Register Republican debate here in Iowa Wednesday left some supporters — the kind who were enthusiastic early on but who have grown skeptical as his campaign has stumbled — wondering to themselves: Could he still be the best guy, after all that’s happened? As the debate unfolded, there were moments when some of those loyalists began to think the answer might be yes — in spite of everything.
Something has happened to Thompson in recent weeks. Yes, his schedule is still astonishingly light for a presidential candidate. And yes, he sometimes still underwhelms audiences. But in the last month or so Thompson has acted like a man who has been liberated from something. And that is what voters saw on stage Wednesday: a presidential candidate who has declared himself fully free of the stupid stuff one has to do to become president of the United States.
posted by Andy W. Rogers | 7:28 PM
1 Comments:
These articles remind me of the incessant cheerleading from NRO on the war: "We're turning the corner and everything is about to get better." "Everything is going great and we're about to declare victory."
I have been aware of Thompson for about thirty years. I can't honestly say I've followed his career with rapt attention, but in the half dozen forays into politics he's made over the years, his performance has always been exactly the same: spotty. I've heard Thompson offer flashes of conservative brilliance. I've never heard a popular politician who seems to have Thompson's grasp of federalism. His slash and burn monologue on Michael Moore's shameless Castro-fawning was the stuff of brilliance. All that seems wonderful until you consider that Thompson not only voted for McCain-Feingold, he was a co-sponsor. Their is such an abrupt and fundamental dichotomy in that behavior that any rational person must pause to consider whether Fred even understands his own words.
So, it's just great that Fred got one over on some local-yokel airhead lib journalist. I can only assume Byron went all moist over the event because he fails to comprehend that all journalists are mental deficients. Since Byron is himself a journalist, such an assumption has some logical merit. The event has the same sophomoric feel to it that one of the myriad "Oh no you didn't" moments has in your favorite sit-com. It has the sound-bite politics flavor to it.
Given the choice between a pseudo-populist Presidential candidate who can toss off snappy one-liners and a candidate who can clearly articulate his positions, regardless of how much snoring is taking place, I'll take Ron Paul any day.
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