Vice President Fred Thompson ?
By Ken Taylor Posted in 2008 — Comments (23) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Placing a great deal of importance to a win in the South Carolina Primary and finishing third may very well have taken the wind out of the sails for the GOP nomination bid for Fred Thompson. Sources in the former Tennessee Senators camp are saying that Fred may be making an announcement soon concerning his campaign. This combined with his pulling out of the Thursday debate before the Florida Primary and his low profile since the South Carolina Primary leads to the conclusion that Fred will gracefully bow out of the GOP Presidential race.
But that will not be the last that we hear from Fred Thompson. Senior Staffers from his campaign are talking seriously about the VP spot on the GOP ticket. In fact as early as last summer the Thompson campaign had mentioned the possibility of Fred seeking the second spot on the ticket.
This may also explain why his campaign seemed to lack the energy that is necessary for a full fledged Presidential run and that Fred has actually been more interested in the second spot rather than the first from the very beginning. Granted the methods that Fred used during his campaign worked extremely well when he ran for the Senate but have not been as successful in a national campaign for President.
Having the conservative Fred Thompson as the number two man on the GOP ticket would definitely strengthen whomever the eventual nominee may be. Fred's conservative credentials will fill many of the gaps that McCain, Romney or Giuliani have with the base of the Republican Party. This combined with the showing that he has had in the early Primaries will place him in a strong position for not only the VP nod but to help shape the party platform to a more conservative one.
The idea of Fred as the VP on the GOP ticket also found some confirmation during the debate which took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on January tenth. I had an opportunity to speak with South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, who has been a staunch McCain supporter and has partnered with the Arizona Senator on all of his controversial legislation from McCain/Feingold to the gang of 14.
Graham has talked and been questioned many times in the past about the VP spot if McCain were to get the nomination and has always been willing to not only talk about the possibility but has always responded as if being the number two on a McCain ticket was a foregone conclusion.
After the debate in the Spin Room, I asked Graham about the number two spot if McCain's momentum continued and he won the nomination. At first he hesitated in even answering the question then he avoided it all together which was highly unusual for Graham who has always readily talked about the possibility in the past and is very much a media hound when it comes to any type of press coverage.
At the time I chalked it up to the fact that he was in a crowd of several reporters and that he had been answering questions for nearly an hour by the time I got to him. Now with the talk of Fred being the number two man the distinct possibility that McCain had already talked to Fred and that Graham was privy to the conversation and was no longer in the running for the number two spot with McCain seems very likely.
Fred Thompson would make a very strong VP nominee on any ticket. His conservative credentials will strengthen any of the remaining candidates and the fact that he is well known from not only his Presidential run but his Television and Movie career will be a definite plus for the ticket.
Thompson's presence will also help to bring conservatives to the voting booth who may be hesitant to vote for McCain, Romney or Giuliani because of their more moderate or liberal records on many conservative issues.
Fred Thompson as Vice President of The United States ? A very distinct possibility and one that I would support. Though I would rather see Fred at the top of the ticket which would take a miracle at this point, the number two spot would be a welcome sight for the Tennessee conservative
Ken Taylor http://theliberalslies.blogspot.com
McCain/Fred would be a very old ticket. McCain/Huckabee would probably be a better electoral combination, though I would really hate it.
Fred would help unify conservatives behind McCain, thus solidifying the base. Huckabee would not do this, and Huckabee has shown to have little crossover appeal.
Fred would help carry the south, partiuclarly states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas which are not shoo ins for the Republican nominee. Fred could focus on the south while McCain (Or Mitt) focuses on the states like Ohio and Michigan.
Age would be a minor issue but not a big one.
And McCain, being buddies, with Fred and needing to toss an olive branch to conservatives and Dixie will have plenty of reasons to pick him.
The down side would be the marketability of two old guys in a political season where folks of all political stripes want to look forward on many issues. Having two VERY seasoned professionals on the ticket is certainly selling the message "stay the course" instead of "move forward".
on a Rudy or Mitt ticket.
In the meantime Florida is the big one. More than any other contest this year, Florida is going to make and break candidates. The absence of Fred and the seeming fade of Huckabee in Florida also makes this a brand new race.
...put someone that old in place as VP. I have no issue with Thompson's ability to serve as VP - he'd be great, I'm sure. But the problem comes when we are trying to run a replacement for [insert POTUS name] in 2016. That's the boat we're in right now - since VP Cheney is not seeking the office (not sure if it's age or health), we really have no cut/dried candidate, thus the mess we're in. And it would be even worse if McCain were POTUS with Thompson as VP - that would be tough.
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While I like Fred, but who every wins the nomination will need to do three things in my opinion. First, find the a VP that helps him win the general, second doesn't over shadow him, third will be the next in line for the Presidency.
Fred doesn't help in any of these categories. To make maters worse, if it comes down to a brokered conventions, deals will have to be made, and that means he who has the delegates can go a long way into deciding who is the VP.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Just to toss out some names:
Haley Barbour
Rick Santorum
Santorum is the equivalent of dead fish. He won't be getting elected to anything for a long time to come.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
I don't think we need to find a VP who can run for another eight years because it isn't going to happen.
If we get four more years, we'll be lucky.
If we get eight more years, it will be crazy.
There is no possible way we'll get 12 or 16 more years.
right now, you aren't going to get even the next four. The Clinton machine is in full gear and all of our candidates with the exception of Thompson has some serious flaws. Those flaws won't be ignored in the general election. Folks, I fear we are about to get trounced....
Any recent news (in the last couple of hours) points to skipping FL and goping for the Super Tuesday states, especially in the south. Do I hear brokered convention?
Part of me is hoping Fred stays in the Race and goes to Georgia and other similar states. Since this is Huckabee area of strength, Fred could do some good there.
But if Florida, its a lost cause.
It's been heading that way since the start. Thompson is in the best position to be the consensus candidate as he has the least negatives of all the folks running. In a brokered convention, the guy that is least disliked unually wins....
First - ""a brokered convention, the guy that is least disliked unually wins...." - comes from where? Hollywood scripts? The only presidential convention I know of that can be called 'brokered' was the '76 GOP convention and I don't know if Gerald Ford was the 'least disliked'; he ceratinly wasn't the one with only a handful of delegates.
Fred isn't interested in the VP spot. Geraghty reports:
I am also told, "he has no interest in a vice presidency or a cabinet position." At an "appropriate time" he will outline his plans for the near future.
He needs to stay in it, all the way to our likely brokered convention, which is where he'll win the nom.
until Fred decides exactly how to attack the present problem. I wouldn't read too much into it right now...
Ever heard anybody say that they would be interested?
Ever?
I haven't...
I believe him. Fred's not one to bs, is he? Alas, he was this Republic's only hope.
I hope y'all are bracing yourselves for Socialized Medicine! Did you see the debate last night, all trying to out-Marx each other? Gave me night terrors. (Why is it the only "choice" Dems want to grant us is abortion?) Mandates and taxes and more mandates and more taxes and spending packages and more mandates.
I think the GOP should just consider the WH lost. Put everything into regaining (or at least maintaining the current seats in) Congress, so we can STOP THEM!
(Hold me. I'm scared.)
Romney/Huckabee
-helps assuage the fears of evangelicals concerning Romney's Mormonism
maybe
Romney/ Robert Gates- to shore up Romney's Defense credentials and to promote Gates for a job well done so far.
He would be a worthy successor to VP Cheney.
However, this statement probably doesn't help his case:
"This combined with the showing that he has had in the early Primaries will place him in a strong position for not only the VP nod but to help shape the party platform to a more conservative one."
Romney and Huckabee have had much stronger showings in the early primaries. Thompson has captured the online conservatives for sure, but his vote count is nothing to be impressed by. I would love to see McCain/Fred (my top 2 choices), but not because Fred has a strong record of winning votes in the primaries.
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