Fred Thompson Underwhelms In New Hampshire

[rhombus]

Maybe it was his famed laziness showing up, or maybe he had somewhere else to be, but when Fred Thomposon campaigned in New Hampshire yesterday, his nine-minute speech skirted the hot issues of the day. And that left Republicans at the $50/head event disappointed:


--Snip--

"It was short,'' said Richard Heitmiller of Nashua. "He's got a nice voice. But there was nothing there. He's for apple pie and motherhood. He's going to have to say what he's for.''

Heitmiller said he hadn't made up his mind about whom to support — way too early — and had come to learn more about this man he'd heard about but never seen.

"People want to get to know him. He hasn't been here, and he gives a nine-minute speech,'' he said dismissively. As Thompson exited, people started making their way to the doors midway through a reception.

"I told my wife we'd get home by 8. We'll get home a lot earlier than that,'' Heitmiller said.

"He looks good onstage, but I don't know if he has the gravitas,'' said Kathleen Williamson, a conservative Roman Catholic from North Weare.

"It seems like he's trying to win over conservatives, but I'm still not sure he has the credentials. I'm worried he's trying to get by on his celebrity.''

``I plan on seeing a whole lot more of you,'' Thompson told about 200 New Hampshire Republicans who paid $50 each to hear him — and to benefit state Republican legislators.

He'd better, because many present came away decidedly under-whelmed.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17514.html


Hollywood Fred deflates their balloons. Uh-oh...:popcorn:

[TwilightGardener]

1. They must not have gotten close enough to smell his manly musk.

Because if they did, well...they would be his love-slaves.

[Uncle Joe]

2. He's in the Mars is warming crowd.

Thanks for the thread rhombus

[Olney Blue]

3. The last thing this country needs is another intellectual lightweight.

[SOS]

8. Cheney would remain President

with Thompson filling the role, now played by Bush, of the folksy, down-home, beer-drinkin' sock puppet.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Thompson is Cheney's Chosen One. Thompson knew that the

way into REAL power was to suck up to Cheney (ie the Scooter Libby fund), NOT the Bushies. Now Fred's got Cheney's advisers and daughter on his campaign, and Cheney is getting him into meetings with foreign dignitaries to make him look statesmanlike. We need to start tying those two together like "Marco" and "Polo".

[Arugula Latte]

4. But he is so good at playing dress up -- just like Ronnie and Bushie!

What more do these people want beyond someone who can convincingly fake being a big, tough, brave He-Man?

[bleever]

5. "He looks good onstage, but I don't know if he has the gravitas...''

It's possible Fred doesn't know the difference between the two.

[Cha]

6. Poor republicon things

don't get it. Fred Thompson is a big joke perpetrated by the "What the hell are we gonna do?..rudymcromney is such a loser..we need someone, anyone who can act like a presidential candidate that doesn't have the baggage of these shitheads."

[calimary]

14. I can tell them what they're gonna do: start getting comfortable with the idea of LOSING.

At least if this keeps up.

I guess some of the faithful are discovering that there's no "there" there. He's nothing but a play-actor. GOOD! First impressions are lasting, fred, and you made some nice ones here. Especially if word about this spreads.

[BringBigDogBack]

15. Nails it.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

7. He's not even conservative. He just has the image right

He supports trade with Communist China. He's a former lobbyist. I mean...how stupid can Republicans get to nominate him? It'll be the exact same shit they got with *.

[mckeown1128]

9. It amazes me.

He hasn't made a single policy position known and a huge chunk of the Republican party thinks he is great. He is even polling first in some polls for SC TX TN and elsewhere. I wondered in to Fr**p land a while back and they were bragging about who sent more money to this guy's not so existent campaign yet. Geeze.

[IndianaGreen]

10. "Motherhood and apple pie," now that sounds like a fine campaign theme for Fred.

Perhaps Fred should avoid making any campaign appearances. The more people see and hear him, the more will desert them.

Time for Newt Gingrich to take the plunge! I can't wait to see Newt join Rudy on the campaign trail as they speak about family values. :eyes:

[TwilightGardener]

11. So, Rudy's too liberal, McCain is not to be trusted/too nuts,

Romney is a flip-flopping dog abuser, and now Fred is a giant disappointment in, of all places NOT to underwhelm, New Hampshire. Who's next on their roster? Paging Mike Huckabee! Paging Sam Brownback! Send in the B-team! About Fred--if I paid $50 to hear someone speak, I'd expect a fuckload more than 9 minutes. I'll bet he didn't even stay for his own rubber-chicken reception--and neither did his crowd. What a shitbag!

[bleever]

13. If you've only got nine minutes for the folks paying money to be wowed,

you don't know what "Wow" takes in this case.

If the Cheney symbiote is seeking to parasitize the Fred Thompson ectoplasmic structure and make it walk and talk like another Dubya, I'm putting my money on Mothra.

[Clark2008]

16. I still think many on this board are underestimating his appeal

to their peril.

Those of us in Tennessee, in particular, and any "Heartland" state, in general, are rightly scared of his candidacy.

Afterall, if substance won elections, we'd be nearing the end of the Gore Presidency or gearing up for Kerry's re-election.

It's not substance voters go after - it's perception. And Fred Thompson is the "new" Ronald Reagan, according to the corporate media.

One needs only to turn on local talk radio in Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas and a few other red to purple states to hear the near-orgasmic mentions of Thompson's almost-candidacy. It's sickening, for sure, and shouldn't be dismissed.

[gasperc]

17. I hope they nominate this buffoon

he's no Reagan and I think we know how to fight another Reagen