Fred Thompson: AWOL at New Hampshire Debate on Sept. 5th?
In a couple of earlier posts over the last six weeks, I predicted that if Fred Thompson decided to actually enter the presidential race, he would either 1) time the announcement after the September debate or, if he announced before the 5th, he would b) state he will not participate in the debate.
About two weeks ago, I did some research and found that FT is listed in the debate. But is he going to be there on stage with the rest of the GOP candidates? Or is he skipping this debate too? As you can tell, I am throwing this out to all of you who may know the answer. I do not.
Well, everybody out there in America has been yelling over to Fred to either fish or cut bait. He has made a decision. You gotta give it to him for that.
But since he is now going to join the fray, shouldn’t he jump into the actual fray and join the debate? No surprises here. Is there a greater opportunity for Mr. Thompson to get his message out than to join the debate and to show how his “stage skills” are superior to the others’?
Here is the story of FT jumping in: THE HILL
~ Vic
August 30th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
No. He’s skipping the debate and doing the Tonight Show. What a coward. I wonder how long he’ll be able to avoid a debate with Romney. My guess is that we’ll never see him debate Romney. What’s your guess?
August 30th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
I would not go so far to call FT a coward. I think he is just not excited about debates overall. You can’t blame him for getting past a debate. I think it is a really bad strategic and tactical decision, but obviously, he does not.
The expectations for FT have definitely gone way up, that is for sure.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
The newpapers and the New Hampshire Republican party are not very happy about it. From a Boston Globe Article:
New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen said he is “disappointed” that Fred Thompson will apparently not appear a party-sponsored debate next week.
Thompson’s exploratory campaign told supporters today that they will file papers the day after a a Republican debate in New Hampshire that will be broadcast on Fox News Channel. They plan to visit the state next weekend.
“I think they are making a tactical mistake and a strategic mistake by not participating in the debate. I hope they change their mind and if they do we will rearrange the stage,” Cullen said. “I am reminded of 1999 when Governor Bush skipped the Dartmouth debate in October. They sent some message about the imperial campaign. I think the Bush campaign would trace their unraveling in New Hampshire with their decision to blow off that debate.”
He said that the campaign was invited two months ago to participate, but he has yet to hear a response at all from the campaign. He feels like Thompson timed his announcement in a way that means he doesn’t have to participate.
“They are clearly trying to avoid this specific event,” he said.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I sure hope Mitt get’s to debate him. If an opportunity arrises in the near future for FDT to debate with only RG, GMR, and McCain (and maybe Huckabee) on the stage, and he still finds a way to avoid it, then we will be justified in labeling him a coward. Until then, let’s just see how he handles the high expectations. The next month will be the most interesting of the campaign to date, let’s hope the GOP voters of America will be wise and fall behind a truelly outstanding candidate, and not buy into the media hype about not having a good field to choose from.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:22 am
Thank you all for the comments. As I said in my post, I do think FT is making a mistake by not participating in the debate. I was listening to a radio station as I was driving about 3 hours after I posted this above and a FT supporter called in and said FT’s strategy was awesome. By announcing the day after the debate, he is not an official candidate on 9/5 and by going on the Tonight Show instead of attending the debate, FT will have much greater exposure to the American public, by far. I am sure that is true. He may get 10, 20, or 100 times more viewers on the Tonight Show than he would at the debates. But he is clearly snubbing his nose at New Hampshire; not a great strategic move to make out of the chute.
I think FT plans to rely on his laid-back, Southern gentleman, slow drawl, folksy persona in the hopes that all America will line up behind him. Clearly, FT is a really nice man. And clearly he is a true conservative. But so is my dad. I just don’t see what value he adds to the mix without any distinguishing history or without any background as a true leader.
As to the “coward” label: This is just my opinion, but I do not think that label or anything like it fits FT or any of the presidential candidates among the Democrats or Republicans. Any person who decides to run for President of the United States could never accurately be called a coward. There are many other words and motivations I can conceive, but no person running for that office, who is willing to subject his/her entire life since birth, to the laser light of scrutiny every single minute of every day, is a coward in my book. I believe that FT could possibly develop into a fine leader and that if he were in the saddle, he would not shirk from really tough decisions; I really don’t know. But I think he could possibly develop into a fine leader. I definitely do not think he is anything like a coward though.
I think he is answering the call he is receiving from many Americans. I think he is being drafted to run just as he was drafted to become an actor and he was drafted to run for the Senate.
As to his motivation, I don’t think FT is really that driven or that he has much drive at all. I don’t even think that his ego is driving him to run. I think he sincerely believes he has something to add to the mix and that he has allowed himself to be flattered into running. I know that may sound superficial, but I don’t think he is at all driven from an inner vision of any kind. FT is smart. I do think he has developed some ideas he thinks are unique and could be a valuable contribution to the race.
More than anything, I think that FT wants to give this a try. I think he is willing to see if there is a broader audience out there that will back him and if so (he will find them), he wants to give this the good ‘ole college try. But he is not driven at all and I don’t think he really wants to be President. Watch his interview with Leno and see if you can detect any real desire to be President of the United States and if you detect any drive to do what it takes to make it happen in a big way.
One thing is for sure: The presidential race is starting to get really interesting. I think it will be fascinating to watch! I am so glad he decided to run. GMR’s stature will be greatly enhanced if he can defeat FT fair and square of the field of battle.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:07 am
“But I think he could possibly develop into a fine leader. I definitely do not think he is anything like a coward though.”
You say that FT could possibly develop into a fine leader. This leads to my biggest problem with Fred Thompson. If he’s not a leader by now (60 whatever years old) he is never going to be a leader. You may indeed by correct that he is not a coward, but what exactly has he done to prove to us that he is not?
There’s only one good thing about Thompson. For some bizarre reason, the southern christians just love him. So if Romney gets the republican nomination, it probably won’t hurt him to have Thompson as a VP. But that’s the only value I see in Fred. Romney/Thompson may be a winning ticket because they would each bring in different segments of the voting population. Romney would bring in all the sensible, intelligent voters, and Thompson would bring in all the others. However, Thompson/Romney would be a joke, because Mitt outshines Thompson every way, except in height.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:23 am
Fred’s decision to not participate in the debate is a poor one. I think it shows a lack of confidence in himself and his ability to get his message out. Maybe he isn’t a coward, but he looks fearful and uncertain. I totally agree that he does not have a passion about running for President. I guess we will see how he does as a real candidate…… does he have enough passion to run a campaign?
August 31st, 2007 at 10:30 am
Freddy is snubbing NH to ensure Romney’s win there (as Guiliani and McCain’s Iowa snub didl). Because Fred is there to bring down Rudy and to give Mitt another man to beat. He’s probably been assured the inside tract as Mitt’s vp. Mitt’s new ad says it all: “Fall in behind me, boys!”
August 31st, 2007 at 10:50 am
It is amazing to me how some of the Republican candidates in this race can’t seem to connect the dots.
John McCain and Rudy Guiliani withdrew from the Ames Straw Poll, with predictable results. Now we have a pseudo candidate who has been dipping his toe into the water so long that algae is starting to form and now it seems that he may skip an upcoming debate.
It seems to me that common sense would dictate that if I were in FT’s position and had to wait this long to get into the race because of Fairness Doctrine and contract obligations, that I would jump at the chance to get my message across in debates, television shows, broadcast interviews, campaign commercials, Op-Ed pieces, retail politicking and other legitimate venues.
IMHO, this reluctance to climb into the ring with the other heavy weights speaks volumes about FT’s competence and preparation. If he can’t face MR and RG in a debate, how is he going to face the dictators of Iran, North Korea, China and others who are threatening the future of this country and our allies around the world?
My guess is that FT’s campaign will fold fairly quickly. Too little, too late, too tenuous and too lukewarm.
** “Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.” **
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
August 31st, 2007 at 11:32 am
MJ got it right. Fred not joining the debate shows a lack of self confidence. However, I think it was the best decision Fred could make. Fred’s followers see him as an extremely charismatic straight-talker. He is not charismatic and is a bad speaker. Comically bad for a man running for PotUS. Once he enters a debate and is compared to Mitt and Rudy, he will come up short. On the other hand, he’s just delaying the inevitable. He’ll have to take part in a debate eventually or he will come off a coward.