WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2007
Fundraising Is Thompson's First Big Test
Former Senator Faces High Expectations As Third Quarter Ends
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Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, listens to questions during a round table discussion with members of the media in Franklin, Tenn., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/John Russell)
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Fred Thompson's Homecoming
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson wraps up his first two weeks of campaigning in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tenn. John Bentley reports.
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The end of the year's third fundraising quarter means a lot for all the presidential candidates. But it may be especially meaningful for the race's latest entrant: former Sen. Fred Thompson, who is vying for the Republican nomination.
Like the other White House hopefuls, Thompson is expected to release highlights of his quarterly fundraising report at the end of this month. But while all the other candidates will be releasing their third reports, this will be Thompson's first - he only officially entered the race Sept. 5 after a lengthy "testing the waters" phase.
The "Law & Order" star hasn't actively competed in any straw polls and has yet to take the stage at a debate, making the report the first concrete measure of how Thompson's campaign is shaping up. As if that wasn't pressure enough, the first few weeks of Thompson's run haven't been greeted with the same glowing press coverage he received when he first started considering a bid in March. Stories in the national press have focused on high staff turnover, frustrations over the role played by his wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson, and his inability to galvanize the support of conservative Republicans, particularly the party's influential contingent of evangelical Christians.
Is the scrutiny perhaps a little unfair? People in Thompson's campaign seem to think so.
"The expectation level for everything we've done has been ridiculously and artificially high," Thompson communications director Todd Harris said. "Everything that we do is being judged through this ridiculously inside-the-Beltway prism ... I think it's more than a little unfair."
Harris said no rally attendance figure seems big enough to satisfy national political reporters and urges pundits to check out the local press coverage that is both more complimentary and more influential in shaping the opinions of voters in New Hampshire, Iowa, Florida and other key states.
But even if the focus on Thompson's fundraising numbers is disproportionate, there's no question that they are important to determining what effect he will have on the race for the Republican nomination. He runs second to Rudy Giuliani in national and some state polls, and even appears to be leading the pack in others. But much of that is based on buzz - his fundraising will reveal if he has the capacity to capitalize on it. Thompson will need plenty of money to build an organization that can compete with Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who tops the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"It's like building a house," said GOP pollster and consultant Tony Fabrizio. "Giuliani's already paid for the foundation. Thompson has to pay for the foundation and still has to build the house itself."
A disappointing number, which will cover all money raised since Thompson formed an exploratory committee in June, will resurrect questions about whether Thompson delayed his entry into the race too long - questions that first surfaced when the campaign reported slow fundraising before Thompson's official announcement. That news, other negative press coverage, and the delay of the campaign's kickoff from July to September all have the potential to further slow down efforts to raise cash.
While the situation may partly be a product of the press spinning expectations upward, it's also partly the Thompson campaign's fault, Republican consultant and CBS News political analyst Nicolle Wallace said. "I think that by allowing the buildup that they allowed by delaying that announcement by as much as they did, they almost made the bed that they have to lie in," she said. "But this is still only the third inning for those of us paying attention. For everyone else it's the preseason. I don't think anything that's happened to date is anything he can't recover from."
Wallace said that two other tests, aside from the first fundraising report, await Thompson: his first debate, scheduled for Oct. 9 in Michigan, and the organizational matter of getting on the primary ballot in all the necessary states. Passing all three hurdles, Wallace said, should be enough to return the narrative of the Thompson campaign to a positive tale.
What is considered "passing" in terms of fundraising? The Thompson campaign is doing its best to make sure the answer to that question isn't too high. "We'll certainly be behind Romney and Rudy, we're never going to raise the kind of money those guys are going to raise. But we'll also never spend the kind of money they're going to spend," Harris said. "We think that we are exactly where we need to be. And we're well on our way to reaching our finance goals."
But Fabrizio says Thompson will have to raise "well over $10 million" to satisfy skeptics. "If Fred Thompson showed up on reporting day and said he raised $20 million this quarter, that would floor everybody," he said. "If he shows up and says that since the beginning of June he only raised $10 million, everybody's going to go, 'Huh?' "
By David Miller
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See all 67 CommentsBye Fred.
http://www.lymphomation.org/statistics.htm
Giuliani had prostate cancer. McCain had skin cancer. I say HAD (past tense) because a cancer you can cut out or irradiate can be gone. Not so with blood cancers. Thompson HAS cancer. His cancer is in remission, but could come back at any time.
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Posted by truthspeake2 at 11:39 AM
.........truthspeake2, don''t tell that to the 100''s of millions of people now living in freedom in the old Soviet Union, Baltic States, or Eastern Europe.
They, like I, would disagree with your "clueless" comment.
And Reagan was a "pretentious" president. His best "acting years" were from 1981-1989.
Thompson can''t decide whether he wants to "act" on TV, "act" in congress, or be just another "actor" in the White House.
Thompson = Bush = more war.
www.poconocommunitynews.com
Posted by reporter at 11:52 AM : Sep 28, 2007
__________________________
What does Elton John have to do with this story?
reporter is a TROLL who is "hungup" on a gay singer who happens to have nude photos of young girls.
A gay guy with nude photos of girls? Isn''t that an oxymoron?
If John had nude photos of Thompson, now THAT would be worth "reporter reporting." LOL!!!
Is he a toe-tapper?
They, like I, would disagree with your "clueless" comment.
Posted by perception5 at 12:00 PM : Sep 28, 2007
_________________________
LOL!!! Another Reaganite who believes that the "omnipotent" communicator actually brought down the USSR. You''re the one who is "clueless."
LOL!!! Read books and learn!!! The USSR collapsed from WITHIN. They went BANKRUPT!
The collapse of the USSR was a TOTAL SURPRISE to the CIA and the REAGAN ADMINISTRATION.
TOTAL SURPRISE. Even the genius Greenspan said that in his book.
Read and learn, instead of listening to Hannity, Limpballs, and O''Really.
Ok, you lost me on your last comment. What do people in Eastern Europe have to do with Fred Thompson?
For all the media attention he got when thinking about running, I don''t see him breaking through to win the nomination. About the only thing in his favor is that conservative Christian voters haven''t settled on anyone yet.
Qaeda warns of attacks ''worse than 9/11''
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070530102648.wuwa6k96&show_article=1
Hizbullah Deputy Sec-Gen Sheikh Naim Qassem: We Have Jurisprudent Permission to Carry Out ''Martyrdom'' Operations, Fire Missiles on Israeli Civilians From Ayatollah Khomeini
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD154907
Switching Sides: Inside The Enemy Camp
But then in 2000, well before his arrest, something happened which would make Abas question everything he believed in: a fatwa, a religious edict, was issued by Osama bin Laden.
"It should be understood that killing Americans and Jews anywhere found are the highest act of worship and the highest form of good deeds in the eyes of Allah," Simon quotes bin Laden.
Abas and his fellow commanders were ordered to read the fatwa to their men and make sure they carried it out. The others obeyed, but Abas refused. It was his moment of truth. He firmly believed that jihad was to be fought only on the battlefield in defense of Islam; he had always been taught that the killing of civilians had nothing to do with holy war and that it was forbidden.
The fatwa justified killing non-Muslim civilians everywhere.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/04/60minutes/main2761108.shtml?source=RSSattr=60Minutes_2761108
American Al Qaeda Member Threatens Attack
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/29/terror/main2865282.shtml
Mitt has accomplished a lot in the private sector, non-profit, and public sectors.
In 2006 Mitt Romney bought health insurance to all the citizens of Massachusetts without raising taxes.
Let me repeat that: MITT ROMNEY BOUGHT HEALTH INSURANCE TO ALL THE CITIZENS OF MASSACHUSETTS WITHOUT RASING TAXES.
All the other candidates from both parties "talk" about health care, Mitt''s already "walked the walk"
Concerning Iraq, Mitt in an interview he did with the Associated Press indicated that he was "against" any permanent US bases in Iraq and wants to expedite the turn over of security to the Iraqi''s.
Mitt owes his political career to the Democrats who elected him Govenor of Massachusetts in 2003.
This guy has already demonstrated that he "can" work with the other side which makes him America''s best choice in November 2008.
That''s why I voting for Mitt Romney!
dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone,,,
gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses,,,
What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad,,,
Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam,,, he killed plenty of them,,,
In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:
The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
Yes and it was the biggest mistake we made.
Mitt owes his political career to the Democrats who elected him Govenor of Massachusetts in 2003.
Once again the biggest mistake we ever made.
You would
They, like I, would disagree with your "clueless" comment.
Posted by perception5 at 12:00 PM : Sep 28, 2007
_________________________
Good golly da@mn I have heard it all now What!!!!!
Posted by gunnerv1 at 12:10 PM : Sep 28, 2007
____________________
"Pailo?" The mystery word...
As in "Pailo" the band? Fiat "Pailo" the car?
Or "Pailo" as in "Luciana Felicio Pailo?"
Thompson desparately needs your money. Send more. It will be much better for him to pisss it away in his feeble attempt to "act in the White House" than for you to pisss it away on beer and pretzels.
The repugnicant party is like a dying cockroack--on its back with its leg flailing about, hopelessly trying to "right" itself before its imminent demise!! What a sight!!
You are right and I am leaving I thought it was about Fred Thompson as well had to look again to see if I had gone to another post by mistake. Oh well bye now
their soap boxes, and shut the hell UP. Doug
Posted by az97202 at 12:40 PM : Sep 28, 2007
____________________
Hey!! This is the U.S. of A. We have (and you, too) the "freedom of speech" and the "right" to express our opinions, or haven''t you heard about that?
Or are you just another "authoritarian" like Stalin, Hitler, and Bush, who would like to "squealch" everyone else''s rights?
VETERANS FOR FRED: http://Vets4Fred.net
their soap boxes, and shut the hell UP. Doug
Posted by az97202 at 12:40 PM : Sep 28, 2007
---------
az97202 in Portland meet lars008 in la-la land.
Portland or la-la land, we all have the same right to freedom of speech.
Calling those who don''t share your opinion idiots does not lend any credibility to your opinion. lars008 may be way out there sometimes, but his comments are far more pithy than some, for instance, yours.
Ah yes..an actor and career lobyist. Just what this nation needs to get back on track. If you like Bu$h you''ll love Thompson. He''s sure to take care of the corporations and special interests that he worked for all those years. He''s like a multi-national corporation posing as a human being.
Posted by micma
And as an added bonus he''s a lawyer.
Keep sending him your money cause he''s looking out for America''s best interest.
Really.
You can trust him.
Like Bu$h, if there''s one thing Thompson can do, it''s raise money. As a former career lobbyist Thompson is the corporations and special interests wet dream. They know he''ll put their interests first if they grease his palms. If you like Bu$h you''ll love Thompson.
Enlighten us oh great master.
Why should anyone have given him any money yet? All he has done, so far, is to spend months building up the "suspense" about whether or not he would run for president. Now that he is "running", he seems to be just sitting on his derriere. He hasn''t attended any straw polls or debates, so no one really knows what he stands for. Why should anyone want to give him money for that? %u2026Because the saw him acting on TV?
If all the "pressure" of people''s expectations is too much for Freddie and his team to handle, maybe he''d feel better if he just dropped out now. Whoever becomes the next president is going to have to deal with all of the horrible messes left by "the decider". I don''t think Freddie is up to it.
I like Thompson, he''s a good actor. His experience as corporate lobbyist gives him the ability to raise lot''s of money for the party.
Posted by mbcsmith at 01:47 PM : Sep 28, 2007
No - it is all those re-runs...
How convenient that when america notices what a sorry lot the GOP candidates are some other fake actor ronald reagan wanna be comes in with so much media favor to take the reins as the official banana republicon candidate for empire and national decline...
Fred Thompson has Non-Hodgkin''s Lymphoma. That is a disqualifier. It''s not even close to a gray area. He has less than a 50% chance of living until 2013. My mother died of Non-Hodgkin''s Lymphoma, so I know what I''m talking about.
http://www.lymphomation.org/statistics.htm
gwagener
That explains why he already looks like a corpse with a bad makeup job.
-If he''s gonna play Reagan he''s gotta ride a horse.
He won''t be President.
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he was unaware that a federal judge had ruled last week that lethal injection procedures in his home state were unconstitutional.
Thompson also told reporters he was unaware that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to consider a Kentucky case about whether lethal injection violates the Constitution''s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Thompson''s support for the death penalty was a major part of his campaign platform when he first ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee in 1994. Asked for his response to the recent Tennessee and Kentucky cases, Thompson responded, "I hadn''t heard that. I didn''t know."
It''s not the first time Thompson has been caught off-guard by questions on hot-button topics. In Florida earlier this month, Thompson seemed surprised when asked about oil drilling in the Everglades, a major issue in the state.
Thompson also gave no opinion when asked about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive two years ago, saying he did not remember details of the case that stirred national debate.
That explains why he already looks like a corpse with a bad makeup job.
Yes.
He is a dead man with Non-Hodgkin''s Lymphoma and there is only so much that can be done with makeup and lighting. There were some complaints on this forum that the picture with the article is unflattering. Only those who are in denial about Thompson being a corpse that is temporarily proped up would believe this picture is unflattering. The picture is truth.
Fred = dead, literally.
Chose wisely. Chose Richardson.
dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone,,,
gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses,,,
What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad,,,
Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam,,, he killed plenty of them,,,
In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:
The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
Whatever you pay him to stand for.
I like Thompson. He''s a good actor. As a career lobbyist, he can raise a lot of money for the party.
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