The Thompson Awakening

As the GOP primary season rolls on, and the issue of substance rears its head, it's becoming increasingly clear that Fred Thompson remains the only true conservative choice:

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — John and Ann Berenberk dutifully watched the umpteenth Republican presidential debate on television on Thursday night and had an epiphany. It was about the candidate they had previously referred to as the tall, silent one. Fred D. Thompson.

The last of the candidates to enter the race, Mr. Thompson, 65, a former Tennessee senator, has so far seemed to distinguish himself mainly by a laconic style that has made him almost invisible beside the others on the stage in past debates, the Berenberks said.

“But then last night — we hadn’t even been thinking about him — all of a sudden it was clear he was the one,” said Mr. Berenberk, a retired teacher. “The bluntness, the forcefulness. He was really impressive.”

Whether this was a new Fred Thompson, or just a sign of mirage-inducing campaign fatigue among voters, many people attending Mr. Thompson’s campaign rallies here on the day after the debate reported having similar revelations.

[SNIP]

Mr. Thompson has made all the same points during campaign events throughout the state, aides said. But many voters who flocked to his rallies on Friday had never heard him make them until they heard him in the latest debate on the Fox News Channel.

Jim Sickles, a retired corrections officer; Natalie Bankowski, an office manager; and Maryanne Gasper, who said she was “a waitress, with two other jobs,” were among a dozen people randomly interviewed who said they had been undecided or leaning toward other Republican candidates — mainly Mr. Huckabee — until Thursday night.

The more the campaign wears on, the more that everyday people are starting to realize that, far from being a slick re-packaged candidate that speaks in focus-group tested soundbites, Fred Thompson is a genuine man who has, and will continue to deal in true conservative principles and ideals. To Fred, they're not soundbites, nor trite platitudes. They're the core of his being.

As time goes by, epiphanies to that effect will become the norm, not the exception.

***UPDATE****

Joe Sixpack isn't the only one awakening to the merits of a Fred Thompson presidency; the major media pundits are taking note as well.

See Flopping Aces for a great compendium of thoughts around the MSM as well as the blogosphere.

Fred the Elder

A clue as to who's the grown-up in this race.

Fred's smackdown of Mike Huckabee.

If Fred pulls off a big “comeback”, many can say it started with the South Carolina smackdown of Mike Huckabee last week.

Check out the video.



***Leo adds****

P3WNED!

Fred on CNN

Human Events Endorses Fred!

Story here.

"Human Events Endorses Fred Thompson"
The Editors
Human Events
January 11, 2008

…

We begin by recalling the profound words of Ronald Reagan at the Conservative Political Action Conference Feb. 15, 1975: "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromis ed to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers." We believed that then, and we believe it now. The issue for us — and for the conservative community — boils down to which of the candidates is most representative of the fundamental conservative principles we believe in. The answer is Fred Thompson.

…

We conclude that Thompson is a solid conservative whose judgment is grounded in our principles.

In his Senate years, Mr. Thompson compiled an American Conservative Union lifetime rating of 86.1, which is higher than both Sen. John McCain (82.3) and Rep. Ron Paul (82.3). The Club for Growth has praised Thompson as someone who has a strong commitment to limited government, free enterprise and federalist principles.

On the issues that matter most to conservatives, Sen. Thompson's positions benefit from their clarity. He is solidly pro-life. He sai d that he was in favor overturning Roe v. Wade because it was "bad law and bad medical science." As the National Right to Life Committee said in its endorsement of him Nov. 13, 2007, "The majority of this country is opposed to the vast majority of abortions, and Fred Thompson has shown in his consistent pro-life voting record in the U.S. Senate that he is part of the pro-life majority."

Thompson's record is solid on voting to preserve gun owners' rights, cut taxes, reduce government spending and drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He has voted consistently against gay marriage.

…

We like the way Thompson unhesitatingly attacks the liberal ideologues and their activists such as MoveOn.org and the ACLU, and the way he reaches out to those we knew as the Reagan Democrats.

The question now is whether Sen. Thompson will do what he has not yet done: Take the advantages he is given by his intelligence, his principles, his polit ical skills and this endorsement and make the best use of them.

As the primaries and debates speed by, we would like to see Sen. Thompson continue to invigorate his campaign to carry him successfully through Tsunami Tuesday and to nomination at the Republican convention.

Sen. Thompson, you suffer, like most conservatives, from the built-in problem of not being a professional politician. It's precisely as Rush Limbaugh said of you: "The problem with Thompson is, and a little bit with me, is I'm a depth guy. I like depth. Television doesn't reward depth. Television rewards zingers, one-liners, cutesyisms. Fred Thompson produced a brilliant 17-minute video that was on YouTube that explains everything about every issue that he cares about. It's clear he's thought deeply about a whole lot."

…

For example, your stand on reforming th e entitlement programs that threaten to bankrupt our nation is courageous and workable.

…

We agree with Rush Limbaugh's characterization of your December 30 video speech to Iowa voters. More speeches like that one and an ad campaign demonstrating the Reaganesque inspiring optimism we know you have could create a momentum in South Carolina that would carry far beyond its borders.

…

Also, Fred is the clear winner in the debate in South Carolina (from Seattle Post Intelligencer, via Fred 08):

But it was Thompson's performance, in which he shook off the laid-back style that has defined his candidacy, which provided some of the liveliest moments of the debate.

"This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future," said Thompson, who has staked his run on a strong showing in South Carolina's Jan. 19 primary.

"On the one hand," he said, "you have the Reagan revolution, you have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. And the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies."

Thompson then lit into Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher and Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucus, for wanting to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for supporting what he called "taxpayer-funded programs for illegals" and for wanting to sign a law restricting smoking.

"That's not the model of the Reagan coalition, that's the model of the Democratic Party," he said.

It's inevitable, folks... Fred's gonna do it.

No. Contest.

Fred was the clear winner in last night's debate. Romney and Giuliani may have dominated in talk time, but clearly didn't provide anything of substance, cementing the notion that one can talk and talk for hours and not say anything. Fred's clearly articulated stances on issues, including his "p3wning" Mitt Romney on the issue of health care, along with his no-nonsense approach to illegal immigration, were both intellectually and and substantively light years above anyone else's stance.

Face it folks, when it comes to substantive stances on issues, as well as workable, detailed plans, no one holds a candle to Fred Thompson. As time goes by and Americans start to pay more attention to the debate, it is clear who the only, real, conservative choice is.

FULL SPEED AHEAD, FRED!