Thompson Stays Awake, Squeaks by on Big Test
The sixth Republican presidential debate was pass-fail for former Senator Fred Thompson. To succeed, all he needed to do was stay alert and not nod off in the middle of an answer.
That doesn't mean the audience didn't doze off every so often. There was a build-up to this one, largely because it was a chance to see Thompson in action, and a letdown when it didn't deliver a totally new and improved product. Up to now, Thompson's hallmark has been to coast on folksy platitudes. He'd become the world-weary district attorney he played on TV.
It wasn't working. The reviews were bad, not just from the elites in the national press he tries to avoid such as conservative columnist George Will, who called Thompson's plunge into the race "more belly flop than swan dive.'' The local press was underwhelmed as well, wondering how Thompson could come to Florida and not have an opinion on drilling in the Everglades or on Terri Schiavo.
As the debate progressed, the problem for Thompson wasn't that he was unprepared, but that he wasn't in the scrum. A funny thing happened on his way to his first debate. The race had already gelled around former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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Hollywood is pretty much on track! Fred is not too exciting, and mouths a bunch of platitudes and assorted crap. From listening to him, you wouth think the status quo for the past six years was pretty good. Unfortunately, the American public started to wake up in 2005 (sort of like the Rip Van Winkle Effect). They're slow, but eventually they get it and wake up. Appeance wise, Fred could use a make-over or should have invested in some surgery. He and McCain both look like old, beaten, and haggard old men, not to mention what comes out of their mouths... Rudy isn't so hot either, but at least he's entertaining, even if NOT BEING THE POSTER CHILD/OLD CRONY of a conservative family values campaign.
"To succeed, all he needed to do was stay alert and not nod off in the middle of an answer."
That's a pretty low threshold.
Southern Fried Social Conservative. And since he appeals big time to the Revival Tent Republicans, likely to be the nominee.
By 08, the GOP will only be able to carry Dixie, Utah, Idaho and maybe Wyoming. And that's not enough to win elections.
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