From The Road
December 30, 2007 4:12 PM

Thompson: "I Need to Come in Second"

By
John Bentley
Topics
Fred Thompson
(CBS)
From CBS News' John Bentley:

AMES, IOWA -- Saying he plans to make no changes to his campaign, Fred Thompson asserted today that he needs a strong finish in Iowa caucuses. "I need to come in second," he said. "We're going to continue to see a lot of people between now and then."

To finish second in Iowa, Thompson has a lot of ground to make up. While Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are both polling in the 27 to 28 percent range, Thompson is neck and neck with John McCain at around 11 percent. When asked if he would stay in the race if he finished third, he said "I'm not going to talk about things like that."

He did talk about the consistency of his presidential run. "Let the political world swirl around me and let everyone run their attack ads and spend their money and spin their wheels and all that," he said. "But I'm going to be the same. It's worked for me pretty well in my career, being Fred, and I'm going to continue to be Fred."

Add a Comment
by gamama1 January 1, 2008 6:43 AM EST
Fred Thompson is a "No Show" in the race and needs to do the honorable thing and pull out. He''s become a joke.
Reply to this comment
by lnardozi December 31, 2007 7:24 PM EST
The dollar slid across the board on Friday as data showing a 9 percent decline in sales of new U.S. homes last month heightened concern about the economy, putting the greenback on track for its worst week in more than a year.
The housing report, which was weaker than economists had expected, also bolstered the case for more Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2008. Earlier this week, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed a record decline in U.S. home prices in October.

This is what''s happening to YOUR house. All the ''money'' and ''equity'' you thought you had saved - eliminated! The equity through falling house prices - and the money because we are DEBASING OUR CURRENCY. That low fed rate you''re reading about gets created by printing money and lending it to people. With more money, the money YOU have is worth LESS. So your money is worth less and your property is worth less - where can you turn to keep ahead of inflation? I think you BETTER turn to Dr. Paul. He''s the ONLY one running that has a HOPE of being able to deal with this.
Reply to this comment
by timd081 December 31, 2007 11:27 AM EST
TO: GIANTROBOT2
What do you know about honor?
Thompson will surge late
Also go kill yourself
Reply to this comment
by billyjoe1776 December 31, 2007 5:08 AM EST
Gosh, Fred. You should have thought about the future implications of your "not guilty" vote in the Clinton impeachment trial if you expect to come in second.

Ron Paul voted to impeach. He is the only small government conservative in this race.
Reply to this comment
by winghunter December 31, 2007 1:20 AM EST
Obviously, people have already forgotten McCain just tried to shove the Shamnesty bill down our throats... Could somebody explain to me why he''s now polling that much in Iowa?

Do I have to actually list the incredible things he has stubbornly and defiantly done to us and against us sometomes just for spite??
Reply to this comment
by rolledoats-2009 December 31, 2007 12:35 AM EST
Fred Thompson is like "Dr. Phil" on steroids! No thanks!
Reply to this comment
by giantrobot2 December 31, 2007 12:26 AM EST
Fred needs to come in 2nd?

I think Fred has memory loss already, sorry Fred but a 95 old guy doesnt have the energy to run the country. Maybe you meant coming in 2nd from the bottom.

Unless Fred his scripts in his hands, he is just a big Rambler talking in circles. I''ve never walked away from a speech he gave understanding what he just said.

All the conservatives who first supported him initally should demand immediately he drop out before Iowa. Otherwise all he will do is dilute the votes needed for another candidate with similiar values to go on to win.

If those individuals do not demand Fred to drop out before Iowa, it goes to show they dont have honor, it shows they would rather have the American voters lose than lose their own honor. No one will ever trust them in the future unless they act quick to demand Fred to pull the plug and drop out immediately.
Reply to this comment
by opditch-2009 December 30, 2007 9:57 PM EST
When did Fred say this? He didn''t say it on TV today. When did he say this?
Reply to this comment
by allan_59 December 30, 2007 8:10 PM EST
Fred should win Iowa. He is the only candidate whose positions did not come from pollsters and campaign marketing analysts. He is the only one that is a true conservative, honest, and unafraid to speak the truth. His solutions are practical and obtainable.
But let''s face it - someone must really have it in for him. FOX news is going full-bore after him. Their misrepresentations are as fake as a 1960''s typewriter with proportional Microsoft fonts.
It''s very telling that you never hear criticism of his positions - his enemies want us to dismiss him before we get to know him. The question of the day is: Is there time to get the truth out?
Reply to this comment
by af9115 December 30, 2007 7:38 PM EST
Fred will not come in second in Iowa. He will win Iowa. If you look at the latest polls (for whatever they are worth) Huckabee has done a dive very quickly. With the negative ads and statements by both Romney and Huckabee, they are alienating the voters. Fred will slide right up through them to win. Iowans are not dumb.
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