Fred's Pretty Cool, But Not Very Impressive

By Lee Bandy
SouthCarolina Insider

(9/14/07) Fred Thompson’s announcement speech in Columbia Monday was underwhelming.

The former U.S. senator and movie actor from Tennessee formally announced his long-awaited candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in the parking lot of a popular Columbia barbecue restaurant.

It wasn’t very impressive.

“I came out of curiosity. I wanted to hear what the guy had to say,” commented Malcomb Montgomery of Aiken. “I wasn’t impressed.”

Billy Taylor, a Columbia realtor, stopped by during his lunch hour to observe. He is trying to decide between U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Others, like Whit Slagsvol of Hopkins, didn’t think Thompson measured up, that compared to the others, he sounded “amateurish.”

But overall he thought “Fred is pretty cool.”

An estimated 500 persons showed up at the rally. A good showing. Thompson had been built up in many of their minds as the savior of the Republican Party, especially among evangelicals.

Thompson disappointed some when asked about his religious life. He said he attends church when he visits his mother in Tennessee. But does not belong to a church or attend regularly at his home in McLean, Va., just outside Washington, D.C.

Thompson said he did not plan to speak about religion.

He altered his stump speech a bit, playing to the audience members’ hawkish views and getting a very favorable response.

He connected to the southerners, telling them he is happy in South Carolina because it’s close to Tennessee in many ways.

Thompson referred to the campaign as “our campaign” and not “my campaign.”

Sticking to a tightly scripted message, Thompson emphasized traditional conservative themes on national defense and fiscal disciplined.

The crowd was relatively thin for the national launch of a celebrity’s bid for the White House.

Thompsons’ advisors hope that Republicans will see him as the most genuine conservative in the race.

At the Columbia rally, Thompson sought to charm the crowd with his folksy Southern manner.

Thompson enters the race late and with sky-high expectations.

After a summer of upheaval, complete with unflattering headlines about a campaign in disarray, Thompson has settled on selling GOP voters that he is both conservative enough to lock down the Republican base and appealing enough to win a general election.

Thompson has 30 days to prove his worth as a national candidate, party operatives say.

As political orchestration goes, the Thompson roll out produced reams of news stories. But it doesn’t solve his most elemental problem – his renowned lack of enthusiasm for the act of campaigning itself.

His entrance has done little to shake up the Republican race, a new Gallup Poll shows.

Thompson has always been in second place behind Giuliani and still is, Gallup notes. One thing that has changed is the overall opinion the public has of him.

Right now, Thompson is enjoying the high approval rating at 22 percent, Gallup says.

Still, he loses to Giuliani by 53 to 40 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll.

Thompson has not yet been tested. His time will come when he shares the debate platform with rivals. He may be in for a rude wakening. He doesn’t seem to have a single idea of his own.

Giuliani, McCain, and former Massachusets Gov. Mitt Romney have spent the past year or longer crafting and perfecting their tactics, making them better prepared to go head to head with Thompson.

Thompson isn’t ready for prime time.