Fred Thompson

The din from John McCain and Barack Obama's "Dueling Terrorism Banjos" this week was swelling to an exasperating pitch, but Fred Thompson came to the rescue today, lulling today's conference call into a questionless stupor with his molasses-and-bourbon delivery of McCain talking points. Along the way, he demonstrated an ignorance of the definitions of the word "martyr," and suggested that the Supreme Court is engaged in an insurrection against the other 2 branches of government.

The whole thing has become a crashing bore for those of us with brain cells, as the entire enterprise uses a deliberate and fundamental misreading of Barack Obama's position on terrorism as its fulcrum.

Damn, I think I picked something up from Thompson. Anyway, the highlight for me was unloading the question I had wanted to ask Rudy Giuliani, but didn't get the chance to, on Barack Obama's assembled experts. From yesterday's conference call with Susan Rice, Greg Craig, and Adam Smith:

[Q] Hi this is, Tom [inaudible] quick question, [inaudible]. They mentioned Osama Bin Laden being granted habeas corpus rights and Rudie Juliani even said that he found it (inaudible) amazing I guess what I'm wonder is do you have any idea what Juliana and John McCain think is the worst thing that could happen (inaudible)He goes in front of a judge, and boom! What happens?

Weird transcript, I know. It's from one of those voice recognition programs that can never understand you when you're trying to pay your cable bill. I thought I'd leave it as is, since it's funnier that way, and who am I to argue with it?

Fred Thompson is the latest to stump for McCain:

Former GOP presidential candidate and close McCain friend, Fred Thompson, is set to join the presumptive GOP nominee during his visit to North Carolina next week. Since losing the South Carolina primary on Jan. 18, Thompson has been absent from the limelight-even choosing to drop out of the race via written statement.

McCain is set to make a timely visit to the Tar Heel State, where primary voters go to the polls on Tuesday, and hopes to scoop up some media coverage. He is set to hit Charlotte on Monday and deliver a speech at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem the next day.

In recent weeks, McCain has campaigned with both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. While there was a lot of VP buzz when the AZ Senator was joined by Romney and Huckabee, expect a lot less around Fred-the former TN Senator even told Fox News last week that a number 2 slot is "not in the cards."

Which means of the top four candidates that didn't win the nomination, all of them have or will be on the straight talk express. It's favor currying, it's showing party loyalty, and unity, and it's definitely part of politics, no matter how we all feel about the end result.

It's also something to think about for the Democrats in the heat of a contentious primary of their own. It's hard to imagine now, but in October, Hillary will be stumping for Obama or Obama will be stumping for Hillary.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.)

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee is the lawyer, turned actor, turned politician whose entry into the presidential primary last year was greeted with so much fanfare. Throughout the spring and summer of 2007, when former mayor Rudy Giuliani was leading the race and Sen. McCain's campaign was floundering, conservatives were clamoring for a true Reagan conservative to throw his hat in the ring. Thompson eventually did so in early September, after teasing Republican primary voters with a lengthy exploration period and a few false alarms. His campaign was never as popular after he announced, however, as it was before and he was unable to finish higher than third in any state before dropping out of the race.

Thompson, 65, did develop a consistently conservative reputation as a candidate and displayed a no-nonsense, if a bit laid back, style of campaigning. He was alone among the Republicans in developing plans based on issues and won high praise for his initiatives from socially and fiscally conservative interest groups alike. He won the endorsement of the national Right to Life Committee and numerous state committees as well. His immigration plan was the toughest of all the candidates, a possible stumbling block for him to a selection as McCain's running mate. He is a staunch supporter of the War in Iraq and the Bush tax cuts. Thompson endorsed McCain after leaving the race in his typically low-key style, issuing a press release on a Friday that received hardly any notice.

Thompson's main assets are his conservative positions and the respect he holds among members of the Republican Party's base. He would help McCain in the South, where voters are very conservative and McCain's history of working with Democrats could be a liability. His age makes a selection unlikely, however. But a position in a McCain Administration as a cabinet secretary or senior adviser is a real possibility.

Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR)

Mike Huckabee of Arkansas is the silver-tongued, folksy former governor of Arkansas whose unlikely nomination campaign lasted longer than any of his better known competitors. Huckabee remained in the race well past the time that it was mathematically impossible for him to capture the nomination, however, many observers believe that he did not hurt Sen. McCain in doing so. Huckabee rose to prominence on the strength of his debate performances, coming out of nowhere to have the most memorable quips and attacks on his rivals and Democrats. Huckabee's two signature issues on the campaign trail were Christian values and tax reform. He was a champion of right-to-life activists, who saw disturbing weaknesses in all of the other contenders and welcomed Huckabee's unashamed religious perspective on the issue. Huckabee was an early supporter of the Fair Tax, a national sales tax that would replace the income tax system, and abolish the Internal Revenue Service.

Huckabee, 52, served a governor for ten years, and during that time built a record that some fiscal conservatives questioned. The Club for Growth, a fiscal watchdog was unrelenting in its criticism of him, and the candidate responded in kind. Huckabee was criticized for raising taxes while governor, although he maintained that he actually cut more taxes than he raised and that the revenue was needed for core government functions like road building and infrastructure improvements. He was also criticized as being soft on illegal immigrants for advocating a plan to give the children of illegals the same financial benefits for education as the children of legal parents.

Huckabee's selection as McCain's running mate would help McCain among Christian conservatives and evangelicals. Huckabee is an ordained Baptist minister and has great respect in the devout community. But during the primaries, he was unable to reach beyond this group in significant numbers and may be seen as having a limited appeal. He could help McCain win the state of Arkansas, where he is broadly popular, however, Huckabee seems destined for a different role in the Republican Party, and may not accept an invitation to align with McCain right now.

Today's Florida primary marks another milestone in the GOP race for the nomination. By all accounts, including his own, Rudy Giuliani is poised to drop out of the contest if he finishes behind Mitt Romney and John McCain. If polls are to believed (and there's every reason not to believe them) Rudy is currently fighting it out for a third place finish with Mike Huckabee.

Of course, "America's Mayor" long ago laid out his strategy for all to see. He would fore-go Iowa, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Nevada and South Carolina, waiting ever patiently for Florida. There he'd spring his electoral trap, snag a win, and be propelled into Super Tuesday with the proverbial wind at his back. The problem, of course, is that with their wins in the early contests McCain, Romney, and Huckabee came to dominate the airwaves. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the free press generated from a victory is more than even Mitt Romney's fortune can buy.

With Fred Thompson dropping out of the Republican primary race this week the nearly universal sentiment in the media was "Great hopes for the next Reagan and all we got was - Fred".

When I heard of Thompson's bail, I immediately thought of Chris Nandor, who you all met here, the singer/songwriter behind the CNN-YouTube Republican Debate opening song back in November, chairman of the 39th District Republicans in Snohomish County, WA, blogger, Perl programmer/author and Fred Thompson supporter.

I truly wondered what happened with the campaign that wasn't - outside of the media hype and destruction - and I sent Chris an email asking how it looked from a Thompson supporter's view. This conversation happened with some back and forth emails over the past two days.

Me: What's your reaction to Fred Thompson dropping out?

Patrick Ruffini has a post-mortem on the Thompson campaign. Much is spot on, but he gives too much ground on one point. Critiquing Thompson's "fire in the belly" problem, he notes that Thompson's supporters point out that Fred shared a laid back management style with the Gipper. Ruffini says point taken, but does cite a couple of moments of Reagan intensity. I say whoah, are we talking about the same Reagan? Laid back in management style, ok. But laid back in approach to moral leadership? You don't alter the trajectory of a political generation by being laid back about what you came to town to do.

Here's a clip of Reagan's speech before the British Parliament in 1983. Here, he articulates what was by then a 40 year personal fight with communism, and which would continue another six years and end in triumph. This is the speech where he declared, "We will not defeat communism: we will transcend communism. We will leave it on the ash heap of history." My, those were the days. Anyone who doesn't understand the longing among Republicans for a new Reagan must have slept through the 1980s.

This was totally expected, but still, it's a sad day for conservatives.

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people," Thompson said in a statement.

Now conservatives will have to choose between two economic liberals (McCain and Huckabee) one former social liberal (Romney) and one current social liberal (Giuliani).

Early polls in Florida are indicating that most Fredheads are defecting to Romney. We'll know soon if that holds true.

In breaking news, Fred Thompson formally announced on his Web site today that he is dropping out of the presidential race:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

This occasion is certainly a sad one for us here at Political Machine, as we sure have enjoyed poking fun at Thompson's lethargic methods of campaigning and his terse snarky manner. That, and it sure was fun postulating whether or not a presidential character actor can pull off the biggest role of his life as president.

Thompson hitching a ride off the campaign trail begs the question: Who will he endorse now?

My guess is John McCain.

More importantly, how will today's development influence Giuliani's numbers in Florida?

Thoughts?

According to this piece, Huckabee's SC people are ticked that Fred Thompson came down and took out Huckabee in SC:

The desperate flailing of a dying candidate? No doubt. But the results in the South Carolina GOP primary this past Saturday indicate strongly that they had their desired effect. In a squeaker, Huckabee lost to John McCain by a margin of 33-30, with Thompson finishing a distant third with 16 percent of the vote. Those 16 points almost certainly came directly out of Huck's hide. "Fred Thompson, John McCain's lap dog, came down here and definitely hurt the Huckabee vote, no doubt about that," said David Beasley, the state's former governor and Huckabee's local campaign chairman, in the aftermath.

But according to this piece in Politico, it's Huckabee who is a stalking horse for McCain, knowing full well that he is no longer really a candidate for presidency, but is really a vote drainer on the social right from Romney, thus running interference for McCain.

As Frank Davies wrote in the Mercury News: "The Fred Thompson campaign was great - until it started."

Fred Thompson, who flirted with the title of heir apparent to the Reagan legacy, inspired hesitant hope and enthusiasm early last summer when rumors surfaced of his potential candidacy. The field of GOP candidates offered no option for true conservatives which did not require some form of compromise and discomfort. Thompson, in his folksy, charming manner, reservedly "offered" (almost sacrificed) himself as the conservative candidate - a peasant-leader tack which might have resonated with a public dissatisfied with aristocratic leaders.

The 4th of July was the crest of the Thompson wave. Rumors circulated that he would announce his candidacy on that day, in full blaze of red, white and blue glory. Even if a bit obvious and egregious, the prospect was ... folksy and charming. And then, the moment passed. It seemed that Fred couldn't muster the conviction to enter the race.

But then he did enter the race - on a day and in a manner which I don't recall at the moment.