Candidate Fred Thompson... A Gift to Rudy?

The Fred Thompson moment, if there ever was one, is already passed. It's strange how passed-the-sell-by-date his candidacy already feels. A lazy-man's John McCain to start with, I can't see Hollywood Fred catching fire... or really even sending off sparks.

But his candidacy is fantastic news for Mr. 9/11. And here's why:

The under-the-radar candidacy of Flip Romney has actually been doing very well for itself. He's the frontrunner in Iowa. And New Hampshire is literally his back yard. He's no favorite in Dixie, largely because of his heathen LDS religion. But talking with religious leaders, in particular the Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptists' political arm, Mitt's Mormonism is a lot more tolerable than Rudy's rocky personal life.

So fast forward to whenever it is that these ever-accelerated primaries and caucuses get going: Mitt takes Iowa and wins New Hampshire running away. Without Thompson in the race, Mitt stood a pretty decent chance of capturing South Carolina too. With that kind of momentum, it's not hard to imagine Romney up on the podium in Minneapolis accepting the GOP nomination.

But that dream bites it with Thompson in the race. I'm not sure he'll convince the hard-core religious right of any deeply held religiosity. But his Southern style and wit will make him very hard to beat in the Palmetto state. And a win by Thompson in South Carolina would substantially muddy the electoral waters going into Tsunami Tuesday on Feb. 5.

Instead of a media narrative about Mitt The Unstoppable, you're going to have the pundits anxiously anticipating how Rudy the social moderate is going to fare in the friendly, delegate-rich contests of California, New York and Illinois.

In basketball terms, Fred sets the pick on Mitt, and Rudy rolls to the lane for what is suddenly a much easier shot at the nomination. Rudy's still clumsy enough to clank it off the rim. But if he loses it won't be Fred Thompson's fault.

Rollingstone.com/politics

Comments

[Pyrum]

Fred Thompson is nothing but a Ron Paul spoiler. Let's hope he falls flat on his face.

[chocco]

Thompson for President?? ROTFLMAO!!! This guy is so boring, I'd rather watch paint dry than listen to his platitudinous bullshit. I listened to him on Leno, and then for the next 24 hour cycle, he said the same damn thing...over and over. Does he have a key in his back?? He's just another old, tired, fart with the same lame, tired, comments. Freedom...God....guns....Freedom....War...yada yada yada...zzzzzzzzzzz (fart)zzzzzzzzzz.

[Chris11]

I don"t like Thompson"as an actor or as a candidate. He repeats exactly the same words in every appearance. This clown can memorize lines but can he think? And on the war it"s: gotta stay the course, can"t leave now....it"s bush lite, all over again. Nasty.

Imo, a pretty woman with a southern drawl can sound attractive. A man with a slow drawl just sounds lazy and stupid. I can"t stand the thought of hearing Thompson"s lazy-assed drawl for years on TV.

Someone mentioned Richardson. I live in NM and hope he crawls back under a rock. He"s worse than Jesse Jackson. Sticks his nose in everything"if there"s a camera nearby. Somebody farts, Richardson comes out of the woodwork to make comments about it. I can"t stand him.

[whatfreshhellisthis]

I'm not trying to be unkind, but doesn't Thompson have cancer? If so, I would think that the disease itself, plus the treatments, would make him seem lethargic. And I'm not sure that I would want to vote for a cancer patient for president. I've seen too many friends and relatives suffer and die of that horrible disease. I think that POTUS is too demanding a job for a cancer patient.

[david75701]

Good news; Fred has a smokin' hot wife. The First Lady television specials will be fun again. Fred is also an excellent actor. He will be able to sell us a pile of dog crap with that down home, feel good, I'm just like your grandpa style of his.

[sneezeguard]

Make me a drink: my usual grain alchohol and rain water please.

[leahlex]

Fred T what a jerk. I am from Chattanooga and here they are planning a fund raiser Monday. Ho Hum I won't be shelling out $2300 a plate to see that wanna be. All his support is coming from a town where the x mayor Bob Corker was elected to the Senate. The only Republican to make the cut. That alone should tell you what he is about.
A town and state so behind the times and corrupt as hell. Our State Senator for years Ward Cructfield has been found guilty of taking a bribe from the FBI. Several more are going to jail down to school board members and county commissioners are going to or are already in jail.
Fred is just anouther example of all this.A carefully crafted bull shit artist who comes from Tennessee. And about the Red pick up truck I have yet to see it. I wouldn't vote for that anti gay asshole if he was the only one running.

[Tiberon]

Unfortunately for the GOP, Thompson's not even half the actor B-movie star Ronald Reagan was. Watch some of Thompson's movie performances: they are all identical, and not very good. The roles are identical as well. Notice he's rarely on camera for long. There is a reason for that--he's got no where to go after he does his gruff, southern-guy proclaimations. Reagan was capable of doing a pretty good "I'm not a President, but I play one on TV" act, but I don't think Thompson has the chops. As an actor, he's got a great voice. And that's about all.

In his first campaign ad Thompson is awkward and unconvincing. How bad will he be when the cameras are roling for more that thirty seconds, and he's required to perform unscripted?

[blu2purple]

Listen to the man...he is Bush in sheeps clothing. Rove is lurking in the bushes just waiting to take over his brain....

[carol]

I didn't know beans about Thompson still I saw him on t.v. making a speech at a fair. Since then, I've looked up his bio, read a transcript of another speech, and watched a video clip of his Leno gig. This man is seriously lame. He doesn't say shit about shit. His whole schtick is that he's a southern poor boy who make good and has lots of hokey stories to tell...but he's ill prepared, a boring orator, doesn't show much real knowledge about national affairs, and never rises above platitudes and generalities.

[DRaymond]

Ive got my own theory about Fred, and that is that he isn't playing to win, not even veep.

Imagine you are a B-list 'supporting actor' and before you get too old to be cast at all you would love to get to A-list territory and become the lead actor in series and movies where you can earn more in a month than four years as president. But for that you have to vastly improve your name recognition and get tons of favorable exposure. What could be more effective at that than a high profile but ultimately unsuccessfull run for president? If that was your goal you wouldn't say shit about shit, You would just tell lots of charming stories and display your stock character.

[HollywoodBill]

Fred Thompson is nothing more than a Southern Fried Social Conservative. He is already behined by double digits in Arkansas and is losing in Missouri. His appeal is strictly to the whacked out base whom we have all seen enough of for the past seven years. I'll take HRC any day over the likes of his soft spoken bigotry. It is time for Republicans to reclaim their party from the Bush Whackos.

[Synoia]

As the framer aid when leaning on his fence:

"Just becuase I talks slow, does not mean I thinks slow"...

Fred, lethargic? - don't think so, it looks like an act.

[Kundera]

Rudy was twice elected in a 10-1 Dem city.
He will be elected twice in a 50/50 nation.

[snaggster]

Is that the new math? The electoral college might be 50/50, but the nation most certainly is not.

Those Dems in NYC live in NYC, not Alabama or Idaho. Your analysis might be just a little simplistic (and off base).

[TerryOakland]

Interesting analysis, Tim. I think that Giuliani has already check-mated Fromson with the line about how he loves "how he plays me on t.v." All Giuliani has to do is keep repeating that and Fromson will be unable to get any traction.

[CatfishJohn]

..I am still trying to get past the oxymoron of "Corpone Gravitas" that this guy intends to come across with- replete of course with warm Ronnie Reaganisms and Reagan anecdotes while on the campaign trail...also, I am not sure how current trophy wife younger than his own daughter and mother in law younger than himself will appear in this era of "people magazine" media depiction of political candidates this side of the west virginia hollows...but that said, i think thompson candidacy could take currently in play tennessee, missouri, kentucky, arkansas and virginia out of electoral play for the democrats and force the Dem eventual nominee to to go with Richardson to secure the trending Dem hispanic vote in nevada, new mexico and very possibly colorado
as the deciding electoral map change in '08.

[liz]

Not if Obama picks Webb as his running mate.