Not going to happen.
WASHINGTON -- Fred Thompson, who was once expected to announce his presidential candidacy on the Fourth of July, has decided not to rush into the contest, since he is already passing rivals as a noncandidate.
The former Tennessee senator is outpolling Republican rival John McCain, whose cash-strapped presidential campaign fired some staffers Monday and asked others to work for free. As a noncandidate, Thompson doesn't have to worry about the mechanics of running a campaign.
But Thompson's success has not gone unnoticed by rival campaigns or the media, both of which have turned up the heat on the TV and film actor in recent weeks.
During the weekend, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Thompson "doesn't have a lot of experience." And The New York Times ran a front-page story scrutinizing Thompson's grown sons, who are lobbyists.
"I think a lot of it is just fear," Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo said. "Our Republican rivals don't know what to make of this movement.
"It is very hard for somebody who has been running for, in some cases, well over two years to turn around and look in their rearview mirror and see a guy blowing by you who wasn't even thinking about it six months ago, who hadn't raised a nickel up until June 4th, and yet who's having all of this unbelievable success without too much effort."
...As for the earlier reports of a Fourth of July announcement, campaign aides said that was an unfounded rumor that didn't come from them.
Sure, Thompson personally benefits by not formally getting into the race and joining the field of Republican candidates.
But what about the GOP v. the Democrat Party?
In terms of fund-raising, the Republicans are way behind the Dems.
Two more Republican presidential candidates disclosed new fund-raising totals today that underscored the tough political environment for their party and the big money advantage that the Democrats have built so far.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who led the Republican field in money raised in the first three months of the year, said donations to his primary campaign had dropped by a third in the second quarter, to $14 million from $20.5 million.
...Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, raised slightly more in the second quarter than he did in the first: $17 million including $2 million that he can use only if he wins the Republican nomination, versus $16 million. But unlike the first quarter, when his fund-raising operation was just getting up and running, his campaign was fully operational in the second quarter.
...Mr. Romney and Mr. Giuliani released the figures a day after Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, reported that he raised less money in the second quarter than in the first, would slash the size of his staff and would focus his campaign on just a few early voting states.
...Charles Black, a senior adviser to Mr. McCain, suggested that part of what was happening was that some donors were holding back to see if another Republican — in particular, former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee — enters the race, as he is expected to do formally in the next few weeks.
“The general mood is bad throughout the party,” Mr. Black said. “There are some donors that are used to giving money all the time, and there are a whole bunch of people who are more casual donors who need to be fired up. The Democrats on the other hand are totally fired up, intensely fired up against the president.”
I consider this to be a serious problem.
The Republicans are idling while the Dems are putting the pedal to the metal.
I was hoping that by the 4th an announcement from Fred Thompson would jump-start the Republicans.
I was hoping that momentum and attention would shift away from the Dems.
According to strategists from both parties, the "gap in enthusiasm and confidence between the [Republicans and the Dems is being] driven in part by President Bush’s low approval ratings, the war in Iraq and the failure of any of the Republican candidates to emerge as a clear front-runner."
It seems to me that the Republicans are missing an opportunity. The Dem Congress has the lowest approval ratings EVER.
The war in Iraq would remain an issue, but if Thompson would make a definitive move now, the Republicans could make hay from the lowest ever approval ratings of the Dem Congress and a Republican front-runner might emerge.
That would bolster confidence and build enthusiasm among Republicans.
Thompson could bring some excitement and interest to the race. He could fire things up.
Instead, his failure to announce his candidacy is acting as a drag on the party's hopes for 2008.
At present, Thompson's approach has to be seen as a detriment.
That's not the role he was supposed to play.
No comments:
Post a Comment