Thompson Picks Up The Pace

Washington Post: GOP Hopeful's Campaign Schedule Goes From Paltry To Packed

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Michael D. Shear.

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Fred D. Thompson appears to be stepping it up, at least to a slow trot.

After a series of leisurely weeks, Thompson's campaign announced yesterday that it plans to air its first television commercial since the former senator from Tennessee launched his White House bid just after Labor Day.

In the ad, which will run in Iowa this week, Thompson introduces himself to voters as a "consistent conservative" who as a Republican U.S. senator "fought for tax cuts, and for conservative judges." He adds: "And I'm proud to have had a 100 percent pro-life voting record."

Thompson plans to campaign in Iowa next week after undertaking an unusually busy week that included a day in New Hampshire, two days in South Carolina and an event at the Country Music Association Awards in Tennessee.

But that schedule is noteworthy primarily because of its contrast to the last month.

While his rivals have spent grueling months on the campaign trail, sometimes hitting five or six events in a single day, Thompson has taken it easy, holding just a handful of public events each week.

On Tuesday of last week, for example, Thompson campaigned in California, holding a news conference in San Francisco after a series of closed-door fundraisers. He had no public events on Wednesday but jetted to Las Vegas for a breakfast fundraiser there Thursday morning.

Then, he "went dark," keeping no public schedule until his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning, his first appearance on the show since he declared his candidacy.

In mid-October, his campaign went days without a stop outside Washington.

During that stretch he gave a brief speech each day to D.C.-based Republican groups such as the Club for Growth and the Values Voters conference.

The following week, he traveled to Florida for a Republican debate and used the opportunity for a two-day trip through the Sunshine State.

But then he went two days without a public event or another trip to an early-primary state.

"I can't imagine a week like that. Most of these guys have been doing double that for more than a year," said Alex Vogel, a Republican consultant who is not affiliated with any presidential campaign.

"It's an expectation thing," Vogel said. "There is nothing, nothing that trumps personal contact. Now, it's clearly game on."

Thompson adviser Rich Galen dismissed criticism of his candidate's schedule, saying that Thompson is working hard on fundraising and policy briefings even when he's not holding public events.

"Just because there's not a public event doesn't mean that he's sipping mai tais under a palm tree," Galen said.

He added that modern campaigns have many more ways to communicate with voters: cable news, talk radio, and the Internet and its bloggers. Thompson's stepped-up schedule is nothing more, Galen said, than "just the ebb and flow of the nature of the campaign."

For Thompson, though, questions about his work ethic are a particularly sensitive matter. Even before his campaign began, newspaper stories and blogs were filled with speculation that Thompson was too lazy or disinterested to run aggressively for president.

A Newsweek cover provocatively asked of Thompson: "Lazy Like a Fox?"

In Florida last month, Thompson was panned when he gave a five-minute speech that followed much lengthier, more energetic performances by his rivals.

Even yesterday, Thompson was caught contributing to questions about his desire to be commander in chief. In an off-camera conversation reported by the London Daily Telegraph, a Fox News reporter jokingly urged his colleagues to speed up preparations for an interview, saying "the next president of the United States has a schedule to keep."

Thompson responded: "And so do I."

Thompson aides have said for months that their candidate will not run a traditional campaign. He waited to join the race until months had passed and purposely skipped a GOP debate on the eve of his announcement.

But the campaign's newly accelerated schedule appears to reflect a recognition that Thompson can't simply saunter his way to the Republican nomination.

Still, in an appearance at the National Press Club yesterday, Thompson spokeswoman Karen Hanretty answered a question about a possible war with Iran in telling fashion:

"Fred won't rush to war because Fred doesn't rush to anything," she said.

[topprophet]

All of these trade deals and world governmental organizations that all of the presidential candidates support (except Ron Paul), such as the ICC, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA, are all major threat to our nation''s sovereignty. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites. The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a prescription to take herbs and vitamins. The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws to meet their needs, and not our own. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs. The NAFTA superhighway, which is currently being built, is just one part of a plan to erase our borders and create the North American Union, a single nation State like the EU, out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new, unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under the NAU scheme. There won''t be any borders anymore, or a free America. Our limited, constitutional government, will be gone forever. Let''s not forget the UN either. It wants to impose a direct Carbon Tax on us. Ron Paul successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to rule over us, we need someone in the White House who knows how to say "No." We must withdraw from any organizations or treaty that infringes upon our nation''s sovereignty. Vote AMERICA FIRST! Vote for Ron Paul.

[topprophet]

What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherance to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[topprophet]

Most intelligent people can see right through CBS News'' bias against Ron Paul. "What about their polls?", you ask? As someone who''s been in the business, I know you can make a poll result look anyway you want. CBS News doesn''t even put him on the list of GOP candidates that pollees can choose from. Then they report he scores "0%" in their tally. You can see the man has support. He''s won ALL of the viewer call-in polls in ALL of the GOP debates he''s been in. People everywhere are in the street, and on the Net, supporting him like no other. And his campaign chest is growing daily, and not from huge corporate donations like the other GOP and Democratic party candidates get from defense contractors and bankers, but from grass root supporters who give what little they can afford--$5, $10, whatever. This is a 21st Century political revolution, my friends, and the Oligarchs or on the defensive. Ignore what the media network giants like CBS tell you. They sold-out to the status quo decades ago. This man has some major grass roots support across this country. Millions of Americans believe he is our only hope to restore peace, prosperity and freedom in this country. Presidential candidates with the personal integrity and proven track record of adherance to The Constitution Congressman, Paul has always demonstrated only come around only once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. The stakes are too high. The cause of freedom is too important. Get off your couch, put the remote down and support Ron Paul!

[topprophet]

Ron Paul can win the GOP nomination. If he does, I predict a landslide victory in November of 2008. Even the oddsmakers in Vegas aren''t willing to discount his chances. They''re currently giving him 3:1 odds to win against Hitlery if he gets the nomination. Romney, McCain and the globalist, sell-out Giuliani aren''t given anything better than a 35:1 chance of winning if they get the GOP nod. All it takes is for formerly apathetic individuals to get off the couch and nominate him in their local Republican primary or caucus process. Political parties are nothing more than tools. Those who read the manual and use the tools properly will win the nomination for their candidate. For the past 20 years, many good people have stayed at home and accepted whatever candidate they let others select for them. This year, those people are learning how to use their vote to bring about positive and long overdue political change in this country. To make a difference, you must participate in the Republican primary election or caucus process in your county, precinct or district. Nothing else matters. If we do this, we win. If not, we lose. The GOP has been suffering from declining participation for decades. Fewer than 10% of registered voters have ALL the power because they actually participate. Now the remaining 90% must surge to use their vote as a tool for bringing about positive change to our country. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[candide777]

TopProphet at 02:15 PM : Nov 08, 2007

TopProphet -- you''ve been spamming CBS articles with the same pointless and unpersuassive drivel for weeks now. Don''t you have time to write a single persuassive sentence? Or get one of your friends to write it for you. If you are truly representative of Ron Paul, he better keep his day job.

[topprophet]

I agree with Ron Paul about the issue of illegal immigration. The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. Ron Paul has a plan: (1.) Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals. (2.) Enforce visa rules. Immigration officials must track visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. Law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas. (3.) No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That''s a lot of people to reward for breaking our Laws. (4.) No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules, but taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services. (5.) End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong. (6.) Pass true immigration reform. The current system, and those proposed by ALL other candidates, is incoherent and unfair, and would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country. Vote for Ron Paul.

[topprophet]

What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherance to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[jack3213]

For those looking for and wanting " entertainment" it is best to watch " Dancing with The Stars" or some other reality tv show. This positon that needs to be filled as President of a country does not need to be justified by "entertaining" anyone. if, by chance, like Reagan he is an actor, so be it. If he is qualified, persistant, capable, and credible that is what counts. You all who need your EGOS stroked better get REAL.

[taotxzen]

Interesting Revelation Department:

Ever scratch your head over how all those hate filled, right wing rant books wind up on the best seller lists?

Conservative Authors Sue Publisher

Five authors have sued the parent company of Regnery Publishing, a Washington imprint of conservative books, charging that the company deprives its writers of royalties by selling their books at a steep discount to book clubs and other organizations owned by the same parent company.

In a suit filed in United States District Court in Washington yesterday, the authors Jerome R. Corsi, Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter state that Eagle Publishing, which owns Regnery, %u201Corchestrates and participates in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets and to wholly owned subsidiary organizations within the Eagle conglomerate.%u201D

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Some of the authors%u2019 books have appeared on the New York Times best-seller list, including %u201CUnfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry,%u201D by Mr. Corsi and John E. O%u2019Neill (who is not a plaintiff in the suit), Mr. Patterson%u2019s %u201CDereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Compromised America%u2019s National Security%u201D and Mr. Miniter%u2019s %u201CShadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror.%u201D In the lawsuit the authors say that Eagle sells or gives away copies of their books to book clubs, newsletters and other organizations owned by Eagle %u201Cto avoid or substantially reduce royalty payments to authors.%u201D

The authors argue that in reducing royalty payments, the publisher is maximizing its profits and the profits of its parent company at their expense.
%u201CThey%u2019ve structured their business essentially as a scam and are defrauding their writers,%u201D Mr. Miniter said in an interview, %u201Ccausing a tremendous rift inside the conservative community.%u201D

[briannorwood]

Another friggin empty suit!

Can''t we do better than this?

[abbe91]

The Democrats could win with PeeWee Herman at this point against any of these GOP Crooks.
Posted by beecuster at 11:08 PM : Nov 07, 2007

If it wasn''t for Diebold I would agree with you.

[candide777]

Who the hel1 is Fred Thompson? He should probably keep his day job. We''ve had enough mediocrity in the White House. Oh, wait, I mean we''ve had enough stupidity in the White House, we don''t need to top it off with mediocrity.

[lanefiller1]

Anyone who wants to see some telling video from Thompson''s first week on the trail, with an accompanying column, should try: http://goupstate.us/index.php/lanefiller/2007/11/05/fred_thompson_for_president_of_what_the_

[poopbreath]

Yawn. Thompson needs to go back to Hollywood.

[jerr11]

Thompson Picks Up The Pace


Hmm must be hard for grandad Fred to keep up with his young trophy chick, Jeri.

[terrapin78]

"Just because there''s not a public event doesn''t mean that he''s sipping mai tais under a palm tree," Galen said.


Is Freddie a boozer?

[denn034]

This Thompson supporter is glad to see it.