That Didn’t Take Long

It has been just a little over a month since Fred Thompson finally decided to join the rest of the GOP field in the race for the presidential nomination, and already it is looking as though my political prognostication prowess are particularly precise.

With only a few months before voters start selecting their preferred horse for the general election, the one time savior of the GOP field finds he is still running second, but his numbers are going the wrong way.

Fred Thompson got into the Republican race with great expectations. And sure enough, just after he got in last month, polling showed Thompson and Rudy Giuliani were just about tied for front-runner.

Fred Thompson’s support in the polls has slipped.

But since then, Thompson’s taken a lot of flak for a lackluster campaign from party activists in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Support for his campaign has also wavered. The new CNN poll by the Opinion Research Corporation released Tuesday shows Thompson’s support dropping — now at 19 percent, down from 27 percent in September.

He’s now running second, slightly ahead of Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who has 17 percent. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, still leads with 27 percent.

Not the best of news, though, it fails to come exactly as a shock.  For anyone keeping their ears to the ground, even before the campaign got in the air obstacles against a Thompson nomination were lining up.  Campaign staff shake ups, gaffes, lackluster speeches, and a less than enthusiastic desire to even run have all come together to paint a picture that voters who were heralding Fred Thompson were in for a big disappointment.

On this one thing did Thompson deliver.  During his Jay Leno announcement, Fred was at best ambivalent (you could almost hear Jay thinking, “That’s the best you can give me?”), and this he followed up with the rather tone deaf absence at the African American forum hosted by Tavis Smiley.  When he finally did show his face on stage with the rest of the competition, he delivered a poor, meandering, and insignificant performance.

It is likely that the only reason he received any praise at all was because so many people were so anxious to see him in a debate that he could have farted all of his answers and ”Captain” Ed would still gush.

Meanwhile, back in reality, nothing can change the fact that Fred’s not even as exciting as a bump on a log, and even the log itself would give him a run for his money.  In other words, I wouldn’t expect his poll numbers to reverse direction any time soon. 

One Response to “That Didn’t Take Long”

1. mick says:

   October 16, 2007 at 10:17 pm

   What he needs to do is take a leaf from Bush’s book: Never speak extemporaneously. Hire the Law & Order writers and stick to the script, Fred. It’s your only chance.

   Reply
2. That Didn’t Take Long — 2008 President election candidates says:

   March 11, 2008 at 10:35 am

   [...] slightly ahead of Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who has 17 percent. Giuliani, the former source: That Didnt Take Long, Comments from Left [...]

   Reply