In the swampy soup of hopefuls for the 2008 presidential election, there is a man with a funny name. (No, not that one.)Oh dear Lord, look how far the Washington Post has fallen. The story is apparently on the front page of Sunday's "D" section, but still. Do we now have to endure stories like this about "Rudy," "Hillary" and..."Barack"? Or is this a single snide attack on one candidate, a Republican, before he officially enters the race -- a sign of the quality of things to come from the Post regarding Fred Thompson?
We're thinking of the one named Fred (Thompson). Say it out loud. Do it. Fred. Fred. In the South, Fray-ud.
Fur-red-duh. It has the tonal quality of something being dropped on the floor, something heavy and damp-ish.
Waterlogged paper towel.
Fred.
The phonetics of the name seem integral to its image problem: On Urbandictionary.com, a "Fred" is defined as "a person who does stupid, annoying, or idiotic things" (Fred Flintstone, Fred Mertz). The best-case descriptors a Fred can hope for are terms like well-intentioned, predictable, benign (Fred Rogers).
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Washington Post Makes Fun of 'Fred' Name
When one runs for public office, especially the presidency, one expects attacks of all kinds, including personal. But a staff writer for the Washington Post has surprised even my cynical mind by making fun of, and a whole article out of, the moniker "Fred": Fred, Fred, Fred: Thompson's Challenge Has a Name.
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Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 4)
16. I can't believe the Washington Post has nothing better to print. Talk about a waste of natural resources. Mr Thompson's parents are responsible for his name and it has not hindered his career thus far, why should it now?
Libby at 11:59AM on Aug 14th 2007
17. For heaven's sake. I can't believe the Washington Post has nothing better to print. Mr. Thompson's parents are responsible for his name. His name certainly has not hindered his career up to this point I fail to see why it would now.
Libby at 12:03PM on Aug 14th 2007
18. The Washington Post is soooooooooo out to lunch. Who cares what a candidates name is? This reporter should be fired for lack of serious jounalism.
Kathy at 6:27PM on Aug 15th 2007
19. Imagine is the reporter were to make fun of Obamas name?? He would be called a racists now wouldnt he or a republican shrill ;)
sy at 10:38PM on Aug 22nd 2007
20. Some of you people are pathetic. One writer at one paper does a riff on the name Fred - maybe because he's assigned to Thompson and there hasn't been much of anything to print lately -- nothing in there about Fred Thompson the candidate and out of that comes the usual drivel about typical libs ("we can argue or positions very well even when we're not opposing a group of incompetents like the present administration, thank you -- although how this becomes a typical lib argument is something only a typical connie could figure out), the usual "yeah, well bill and hillary bill and hillary. . .",(don't know what you people would do without those 2 to dump on every time gw and his fellow chimps screw up) the paper is trashed ("Liberal Communist Manifesto"? a US major media outlet? -- these people wear USA cheerleader shirts to work), and then the media as a whole is trashed over a dumb article about the name "Fred". You guys are even more convinced of defeat than I thought. If I were you I'd be a lot more worried about how his pro-abortion, pro-criminal rights stances are going to fly with the religious right and how he's going to run when he waited so long to enter he can't raise any money. That kind of stuff will keep him out of the White House, not some off-the-wall goofball thing like this.
Mike at 5:18PM on Aug 14th 2007
21. Just so the Washington Post will know, people in the south do not say Frey-ud. That's something the Post invented or perhaps hillary pronounced it that way when she was faking a Southern accent.
Lois at 5:31PM on Aug 14th 2007
22. I like the name Fred so much that I named my turtle Fred. BTW Don, its' "their", not 'there"
Kona Guy at 8:21PM on Aug 14th 2007
23. We donot need another actor in the white house !!Reagan was bad enough...All of the Republications running now suck !!!
Mr Thompson needs a wig to cover that Chrome Dome !!!!!!!!!
Ed Baggett at 12:48AM on Aug 15th 2007
24. Mike ~ For someone who certainly wished to deride those of us who wrote in favor of FRED Thompson and his name, about our inability to focus on matters other than the political aspirations of a particular newsprint media source, you surely have a way of pontificating all you wish about drivel aimed at the opposing viewpoint. (Pot and kettle ~ remember that adage?)
Just by chance, did you read Monica Hesse's article in the Dem. Liberal Communist Manifes... Opps! Sorry. I meant - the Washington Post. I don't think you did. It digresses from poking fun at the name, Fred, to talking about President Thompson's (Opps! again, getting a little excited here) sex appeal to women and the voting public. So it was not pointed at the potential candidate? In the words of Dennis Miller, "What? Are you shitting me?"
We jump on an imbecile for a staff writer about an idiotic, trivial article about a candidate's name (and not Barack, if you will?) and you say we are convinced of defeat? Did you ever think to look on the other foot? I think some libs are running scared of FRED...if that's the best ya'll can do.
Don Naylor at 11:40PM on Aug 15th 2007
25. Gosh, I would've thought Thompson being a right-wing douchebag would be a more substantive issue than the phonetics of his name.
Simon at 3:12AM on Aug 15th 2007
26. I AGREE WITH MOST. FRED SEEMS TO BE THE TOP OF THE PICK. AT LEAST FOR NOW. GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY WHOMEVER GETS TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT. JUST SO IT'S NOT BUSHY AGAIN. GOD FORBID.
SHIRLGIRL
Shirley Cox at 4:49AM on Aug 15th 2007
27. When you have duhds running your paper what more can one expect. duh duh duh
641tre334 at 6:13AM on Aug 15th 2007
28. Thompson belongs to the CFR. So does Dodd.
elmjcil at 7:41AM on Aug 15th 2007
29. And all this ridicule about the name "Fred" is from a paper who supports someone named Barak Hussein OBAMA? Gimme a break. Wonder how many Southerners named Fred just left the democrat ranks?
Freyud at 7:58AM on Aug 15th 2007
30. President Fred. . . . . Kinda grows on ya
KCWard at 9:55AM on Aug 15th 2007