Candidate Thompson coming to FL

Fred Thompson will make it official and file as a candidate 9/6, political director Randy Enwright announced in a confernece call and after a swing through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina next week, he'll follow up with 9/13-15 trip to include "several days" in Florida and finishing up in Tennessee.

Comments

[csbrudy]

Thompson ought to stick to portraying stupid good 'ole boys on TV, and not prove himself to actually be one when he comes down here.

Say goodbye Mitt.

Thompson will take all the conservative nutjobs that support you.

Now it will be down to Rudy and Fred...

great news, and I like to see FL getting its due after seeing some of the Dems and other R's ignore the state.

[Issywise]

Pleeeeeeaaaase Fred! Just once!! Just say, "Wasklly wabbit!"

[Issywise]

Pleeeeeeaaaase Fred! Just once!! Just say, "Wasklly wabbit!"

[Issywise]

Pleeeeeeaaaase Fred! Just once!! Just say, "Wasklly wabbit!"

Will they stop by the Lad Daniels campaign in Jacksonville to wish him well in the general?

Florida is Fredhead Country!

Laugh it up boy and girls... just watch Fred roll once he's in the game.

[UF Student]

I can't wait to watch all the social conservative whackos split their vote between Romney and Thompson. Rudy might loose a few points, but not as much as Romney.

Will his 8 month year old grandchild....uh I MEAN CHILD, be campaigning with him?

Creeeepy

Who is the Tampa Bay contact for the Fred campaign?

its 'bout time!

yeah... The Paris Hilton of Politics is going to walk the red carpet. What has he done? Oh... that's right his qualifications are he looks "presidential"

[Michael House]

lulu.com/wrietur written by Michael House, Jimmy Lay's grandson. Jimmy Lay is commissioner JB Lay's son.

[Zhombre]

Csbrudy: here's a link to movie and TV roles played by Fred Thompson:

http://imdb.com/name/nm0000669/

Which roles were dumb good ole boys? I think the real dummy is you because you make a cheap shot at a man without knowing what the f*** you're talking about.

[GOPFL]

I'll believe it on 9/7. Fred was supposed to have jumped in the race around the 4th of July. We never know what his wife might decide between now and the 6th. I'm supporting Mitt, but Fred Thompson is a strong second choice, as long as it's not Rudy!

Randy Enwright and Todd Harris are both class acts who will serve the Thompson Campaign very well.

Thompson will win the nomination against this week field. I still can't imagine Giuliani winning it even he takes Florida.

[agatha]

Looks presidential? You must have been watching his TV cameos. He looks old and haggard now. And just wait till those juicy tidbits about his personal life are revealed. A shooting star if there ever was one!!!

5:16, at least he claims his child, unlike your beloved Governor

Bye bye, Demmy-crats

UF Student, please learn to spell "lose."

Very intellectual, 11:41, and thanks for providing that fresh perspective on the issue!

IS Fred a conservative? We don't know much about his positions.

wasn't freddy in that kid's movie "Baby's Day Out"?

was he the crook or the uninterested daddy?

[mike]

I like Fred. I lived in TN while he was Senator and I thought he did a great job. Unfortunatly, I think he waited way too long to announce and the constant announcements about future announcements has grown tiresome. If he were elected, would it take him 6 months to make major decisions? It think the buzz that was created by his possible run created shoes that are way to big to fill now. If Ronald Reagan rose from the grave and ran I don't think he could fill those shoes. Fred you should have run in 2000. Sorry, but I think he missed the boat. At a time when our country is so divided I just don't believe he can win in a general. Rudy/Huckabee is my prediction. I think that is a winning ticket that can win in the North, South, West and East.

11:07--I wouldn't be so sure about that.

5 Reasons Fred is not the right choice
http://www.observer.com/2007/five-easy-arguments-against-fred-thompson

“He’s no Washington outsider.”

Much of Fred Thompson’s charm lies in his seeming aloofness from Beltway politics. He hasn’t wanted to be president his whole life, he repeats again and again. He hasn’t made a career as a politician and doesn’t “need” to be president.

His opponents’ answer should be to repeat the “L” word—lobbyist—endlessly. Mr. Thompson’s lobbying for a pro-choice group was more significant for the lobbying part than the pro-choice part. In defending himself against charges he aided the pro-choice cause Thompson was forced to reveal that he’s lobbied for dozens of clients, so many he can’t remember them all. Suddenly he was less outside and more inside than some of the current contenders. Add to that his gamesmanship in manipulating the “testing the waters” rule (which allowed him to prolong his entry, keep his TV series on the air and delay financial disclosures) and Mr. Thompson suddenly looks like a Beltway pro who built a career exploiting all the angles.

“He loves small government and federalism except when he votes.”

Mr. Thompson, to the extent he has talked in detail about any subject, has touted the benefits of returning to a Republican version of limited government and re-establishing that principle that the federal government should play a more limited role (focusing, for example, on securing the borders and fighting terrorism). Savvy opponents will argue that Thompson talks a good game, one that appeals to traditional Republican themes, but has actually contributed greatly to the expansion of federal power. The most obvious illustration will be McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform which he championed, co-sponsored and defended in a brief before the Supreme Court. Nothing rankles conservative activists more than federal regulation of political speech and Mr. Thompson, his opponents will say, bears as much responsibility as McCain for this intrusion of the federal government into campaigns, political speech and interest-group advocacy. They will no doubt also point to his vote in favor of No Child Left Behind, which federalized education, hugely expanded Washington’s spending on education and helped undermine state and local control of schools.

“We need a tough executive, not another amiable conservative.”

The Bush has been an embarrassment in its mismanagement of the war, the failure to deal with natural disasters like Katrina and the creation of personnel disasters like Alberto Gonzales. Republicans are well aware that they have something to prove before the public once again thinks of Republicans as tough, businesslike stewards of effective government. Three of Mr. Thompson’s toughest opponents—Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee—all boast records as executives and will remind voters repeatedly of their successes and executive know-how. Mr. Thompson, as rival campaigns will no doubt remind voters, has never run anything, and, so far, isn’t doing a very good job of running his own campaign. Being a conservative is nice, they will say, but it’s not enough.

“There’s no there there.”

To date, Thompson has gotten by with no tax plan, no health plan, no proposal for Iraq and no suggestions for returning Washington to fiscal sobriety. His opponents have reams of commitments, plans and programs which they say show that they are ready to hit the ground running. What is Thompson offering? He has hinted that entitlements are an issue—hardly a revelation to anyone following the news in the last decade—but hasn’t offered his own prescription for Social Security or Medicare reform. If Thompson can’t go toe-to-toe with opponents in detailed policy debates, they will be able to make the case that he’s simply not ready for the job.

“Hillary will kill him.”

Electabilty is certainly on Republicans’ minds these days as they come to the recognition the public is not pleased with their party and will be seeking to throw the rascals out. Mr. Thompson may have a harder time than any of the leading Republican contenders demonstrating that he can put any states in play for the G.O.P. in the general election. Nearly 80 percent of his initial round of contributions came from southern states—a sign that voters from purple and blue states have yet to discover his attractions. When Mr. Thompson attacks New York City in his pro-gun and anti-immigration ads, he’s not making friends with voters who like New York City and live in other urban centers. Are suburban and urban voters really ready for another folksy figure with rural props? (A red pickup truck? Really?) Couple all that with polls showing that his gender gap –a traditional Republican worry—is vast and that he badly trails Hillary Clinton in one-on-one match ups, and the arguments against Thompson ’08 start to make themselves.

[david flagg]

Why are the R candidates, and even the Ds, looking over their shoulders ? They see Romney steadily coming on...gaining. Mitt will peak at just the right time. Thompson is too little too late.

[mike]

4:49 So when you say Mitt is steadily coming on, you mean the .0000000000001 of a percentage point that he gains everyday is evidence of him peaking at the right time. Wow, the blindness factor of Romney staffers is mind boggling. So at what point did 14% start meaning you were winning. Keep drinking the Mitt Kool-aid guys.

9:44am-

I'm not sure if it's too late for Fred Thompson, but will agree that the excitement over his candidacy has somewhat diminished by his constant delays in announcing.

If we end up getting stuck with Rudy as the nominee, he'd need someone like Huckabee. In my opinion, Rudy is a very uninspiring candidate. Huckabee would be a good pick because he has integrity which Rudy lacks. He doesn't have multiple marriages. As an ordained Baptist minister, he'd help build support among conservatives. He'd also draw support from southern states. I'm personally supporting Mitt Romney, and feel Huckabee would be a solid pick for Romney as well.