How Much Do A Candidate's Positions Matter?
That isn't to say that Thompson has the "wrong" positions – and he certainly has more experience in politics than Barack Obama, to choose one example. It's just that, as Gallup's Frank Newport points out, "[i]t's hard to imagine that Republicans have a finely-tuned understanding of his positions on the issues." Nonetheless, Thompson is now getting 12 percent of the GOP vote, according to Gallup.
Recently on "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart pointed out to Chris Dodd that "resume candidates" like Dodd have a hard time getting much attention. That's not necessarily a bad thing – there are a lot of factors that go into what makes a good president, and they can't all be summarized on a resume. But there is something a bit jarring about that fact that Thompson, a former Senator who Mickey Kaus argues "didn't accomplish much in two years plus a full six-year term," finds himself in third in the Republican polls largely on the strength of his performance on "Law & Order."
Media critics are quick to criticize the political press corps for focusing on "rock star" candidates and trivial sniping instead of the substantive positions of each candidate. There is certainly something to that criticism. At the same time, it's not surprising that the press corps doesn't spend much time looking at the issues when Americans keep giving indications that, when it comes to picking a candidate from their own party, the issues are just one small factor in their decision.