Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson this afternoon pulled the proverbial plug on his candidacy for the White House.
He issued a brief statement.
"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
I know few Thompson supporters who did not share with me, privately in most cases, on how underwhelmed they were with Thompson’s performance.
One the the challenges about being an actor by profession, is that there is a high expectation that you will act… Presidential.
In the end, emulating his character from Law & Order, D.A. Arthur Branch, did him in.
As to where his supporters, especially, in the key battleground state of Florida end up? We’ll see!
I’m sure our two Thompsonites here in FR-land, Senator Jim Battin and former Managing Editor Nicholas Romero, will add their ten cents.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
There’s plenty of room on the Ron Paul bandwagon for all the Fred Thompson supporters. He was my fall back choice. I’m all in(to coin a poker term) for Ron paul now.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Well said, Allen.
The Ron Paul camp welcomes all those looking for a home.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Call me cynical but I think Fred was only in the race to help McPain. In New Hampshire, he went after Mitt Romney which helped McPain defeat Mitt and in South Carolina he went after Huckabee which also helped McPain win. No wonder he lacked enthusiasm. My bet is he will endorse his fellow Senate pal McPain with whom he co-sponsored McCain-Feingold.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080122/news_lz1e22will.html
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Thank you, Jon, for the invitation to comment.
In March of last year, I first heard about a Draft Thompson movement forming. The Senator was in the middle of a term on ABC talk radio filling in for Paul Harvey, penning guest columns for the National Review, and was booked as a guest of Chris Wallace’s Sunday talkshow on Fox News. I investigated the draft and I joined the committee. I’ve worked diligently toward putting Thompson in the White House since.
It’s a shame the voters failed to recognize steady adherence to fusionist conservative principles as a means of capturing the presidency in 2008. Fred Thompson was the lone candidate in this election who refused to buy into the trendy and nebulous message of “change”. He trumpeted conservatism. He introduced detailed and specific conservative policy prescriptions, careless that these wouldn’t be picked up in the soundbite-ridden mainstream press. He exercised maturity in the debates. He defended the Reagan legacy and its endurance.
This may surprise other Thompson supporters, but his respect for the presidential campaign timetable of the good ol’ days was actually appealing to me. I do not like and do not want presidential campaigns to start before, on, or even near the midterm elections. To me it really shows a lack of respect for the office of the sitting president, be they a Democrat or a Republican. I like that Thompson waited. However, when it came time for him to announce his candidacy and it appeared an announcement was imminent, it was delayed. Little did his many supporters and I know, that would come to sort of typify the whole campaign.
He was hit with the expertly devised “reluctant campaigner”/”lacks fire in the belly” attack (perhaps made more effective by his slow speaking style and Southern drawl) before he even officially began to campaign and he failed to overcome it early on. At times, it seemed he would even embrace it, invoking Coolidge and Reagan’s penchant for napping as presidents. Unfortunately, it’s hard to inspire activism in a recliner with your feet up.
I am pleased Senator Thompson entered the race. I think he introduced some common sense folksiness and conservative ideas to the national discourse. I think he added weight and a good grip to the Right end of the Republican tug-o-war. I’m glad he spoke up on Social Security.
It was with solemnity that I today peeled off the Thompson bumper sticker from the car and surrendered the campaign button to the extensive collection of political paraphernalia I’ve gathered over the few years I’ve been doing this. Maybe one of the other guys will decide to put Senator Thompson on their ticket and give me an opportunity to re-engage.
About that…today I had a lot of friends and family obviously trying to get my reaction to the news and court me to their chosen candidates. And as I observed the matter myself, I was struck that only ONE of the five remaining candidates had the good, smart sense to promptly mention Thompson’s departure and praise his work on the campaign trail. I understood the motivation behind the release. It was an attempt to pick up disheartened Thompson supporters. But coupled with the fact that this guy has the endorsement of a magazine I respect, read on a regular basis, and have subscribed to for many years, National Review, the message – at this point – has nearly worked to persuade me that there’s another candidate of merit still in the fight. If I may, I’d like to post the message. In case you’re wondering, it came from Governor Mitt Romney:
“Throughout this campaign, Fred Thompson brought a laudable focus to the challenges confronting our country and the solutions necessary to meet them. He stood for strong conservative ideas and believed strongly in the need to keep our conservative coalition together. Ann and I would like to extend our best wishes to Fred, Jeri and their family and congratulate them on their efforts during this campaign.”
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 am
Yep, that Mitt is one class act (and so is his wife).
Nick – I respect the good job you did on explaining Fred’s positions. It has to be difficult when your candidate drops out. Duncan Hunter’s supporters probably feel the same way.
Since the same type of voters may be attracted to McCain and Giuliani. Perhaps conservatives need to solidify at this point to Romney.