The Media's Pumping And Pimping Of Lazy Fred Thompson

Wow. Surprise, surprise Republican Fred Thompson has dropped out of the presidential race after only four months. Or wait... was this any surprise? Well, it's certainly a slap in the face to the many pundits who thought the Tennessee stud was the second coming for the GOP ticket.

In the end, Thompson ran a lazy campaign and no one could have predicted that. But if you look at the rumors swirling around the man there was no need for him to put vigor into his candidacy. Thompson was practically likened to a bull moose in heat. Apparently Viagra had been modeled on his DNA and the "smoke" fuming from Thompson's ears was the cause of global warming. Fred didn't do much to distill this reputation either. He once professed to a group of republicans, "I was single for a long time. I got chased by a lot of women, and usually I got caught." Wow, this man was going to put the Rrrrrr back into Republican!

As the rumor mill goes, so does the punditry. They did a good job of promoting Thompson's chances for the presidency by reinforcing this macho man mantra.

Check out some of the choice quotes preceding Thompson's entrance into the race.

Chris Matthews: "Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of -- a little bit of cigar smoke? You know, whatever."

Whit Ayres On ABC's Good Morning America: "Senator Thompson's campaign has enormous potential."

Liz Sidoti, Associated Press: "Thompson brings to the eight-man GOP field a right-leaning Senate voting record with a few digressions from GOP orthodoxy and a healthy dose of Hollywood star power. He is hoping to attract conservatives who are lukewarm about the current crop of candidates."

John Harris on CBS's The Early Show: "... he would be the only mainstream conservative from the South in the race. That clearly gives him a window."

The punditry should have dug their nails into the Thompson's past a bit more for a deeper character analysis. The stud said it best himself in his high school yearbook when he scrawled the sign off: "The lazier a man seems, the more he plans to do tomorrow."

Comments

[Pieface]

Fred is no dope. He will now be able to go back to doing movies and tv at a better salary. Remember, any publicity is better than no publicity.

[bigfated]

Fred, Rudy, all the same. They are mere copies of our currently ill-suited leader---not good for America! The Republicans simply have no one worth putting in the Oval Office. problem is---neither do the Dems. I think our troubles are still really serious.....and no real leader in sight! Maybe we should write in Barney Fife!

[jazzman]

Thompson ran for the Presidency because he needed a nap and couldn't get it on the Law and Order set.

[scooperss]

You gotta admit. Ole fred did bring something to the campaign. He and the people who canonized him before he announced gave the rest of the US a good laugh.

[ClosetExtrovert]

I just lost breakfast. Who else saw that picture of creepy old Fred Thompson holding a baby and thought it was his granddaughter? Touting him as a stud? Gross!
I frankly found the fact the Republican party thought him a worthy candidate was an insult to the American people. But then again, Bush won twice, which makes me aware of just how many stupid people live in this country and vote. Amazing.

[not one of the sheep]

Fred who? I'm having too much fun watching Hillary and Obama slit each others throats.

[ibivi]

I think that Thompson's run was a vanity campaign. He didn't bring much to the table and it seemed that he just wanted the attention.

[KPinSEA]

Fred learned there's a difference between being an actor and a star. Reagan was a star, Fred is an actor .... and Fred, that ain't much of an advantage in the primaries, because they're ALL actors.

[foreffectivegovernment]

The Republicans nominated a washed up, second rate actor, feel good "Communicator" candidate and won the election.

They then nominated a failed executive, reformed alcoholic, born again Christian moron and won the election.

Why shouldn't they nominate Fred Thompson?

It worked before. The voters just realized that when they were electing these duds, they were getting the failed Policies of the Republican Party that only benefit the rich and not them. I just hope enough people realize this and don't put a Bush Clone in office.

[RogerHWerner]

Anyone interested in reading a wonderful analysis of the media's coverage of the election I suggest reading:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174883/jay_rosen_mindlessness_in_the_media_campaign_2008

Rosen makes some astute observations about the mindlessness of election media coverage.

[philistine]

The Repugnican't Powers That Be thought that Fred Thompson would be the second coming of Ronald Reagan: smooth-talking, empty-headed and malleable. I guess the current crop of Republican voters think Saint Ronnie was too liberal for them. Or maybe it was just a touch of "been there, done that."

Now he can go back to his TV show, where he pretended to be a competent leader.

[Mack20]

You quote a bunch of liberal news outlets - AP, ABC, CBS, MSNBC. I guess you believe everything you hear from left wing pundits. It would be more amazing if "lazy Fred" were leading in delegates. But to no one's surprise, even on the right, he did poorly in SC and dropped out.

This is a big deal for you liberals. Someone please explain why Edwards keeps hanging around when its clear democratic voters reject him. Why hasn't the MSM demanded he throw in the towel? I think he has a hard time accepting the fact that people simply don't like him. Even John F-ing Kerry wouldn't endorse him.

[Myers]

"Well, it's certainly a slap in the face to the many pundits"

How so? They have no shame, so they can't be embarrassed. No matter how many times they are wrong, they are still called "experts". Even when they say things, that would make Goebbels blush, they get a slap on the wrist. That's the MSM's version of capital punishment.

[pithy]

I think y'all are missing the true picture. Fred didn't want to run at all - it was Mrs. "Cleavage" Fred who wanted to be the First Lady. SHE provided what little energy there was in his so-called campaign.

[Stirner]

Well, the corporate pundits are now primping Bloomberg off-stage in case McLieberman falters. Anyone but the unmentionable Ron Paul!