New York Doesn't Like Fred Thompson
by Ryan Sager
Tue, 24 Jul 2007 at 5:47 PM
updated Tue, 24 Jul 2007 at 5:59 PM
[Again, that's New York magazine, not New York City.]
So, about that Fred Thompson profile in New York magazine (link is here)...
While it's certainly not flattering, I don't think it's terribly damaging. It's not nice to Fred, and is even a little condescending toward his supporters, but it doesn't do much to lay a glove on him.
Highlights (or, lowlights, depending on your perspective) after the jump...
* The article claims Mr. Thompson has "improbably jumped to the front of the line for the GOP nomination," based on one poll. I'd say this is getting ahead of things. Mr. Thompson's overtaken second from John McCain, but Rudy Giuliani still has a rather solid lead.
* This is probably the key paragraph that enrages Thompson supporters:
So far, the Thompson bubble has floated skyward on several favorable updrafts. He's the newest man in the race—and one with celebrity name recognition. He's a Southerner and arguably the most conservative candidate in a field devoid of hard-liners. Despite his eight years in the Senate, people seem to buy the idea, for the time being anyway, that he's a Washington outsider. And all of his opponents have significant liabilities. But then again, so does Thompson. Among them are his work ethic and authenticity.
It both credits his success so far to luck (which I think even Thompson supporters should be able to admit has more than an element of truth to it) and asks whether the candidate is lazy and phony (Thompson supporters are certainly within their rights to get their dander up here). Still, these questions are nothing new.
* Controversies about Mr. Thompson's time as a Watergate prosecutor — including the characterization that he was a "mole" for the White House — are aired. Still, it's all stuff that hit the news weeks ago.
* The piece notes: "With rare exceptions, Thompson has limited his media exposure to reliably conservative outlets like The Weekly Standard, Sean Hannity, and Fox News." This is definitely true. And it's clearly a deliberate strategy on the part of the campaign. Why should they talk to the New York Times is their attitude. At this early stage, I don't think there's a good answer.
* The piece has this to say about Mr. Thompson's famous "red pick-up truck" campaign for Senate in Tennessee: "Although some of his campaign staff protested the move as cheesy, they leased Thompson a red Chevy pickup and he hit the road. Cooper [Thompson's opponent] attempted to paint Thompson as phony, calling him a 'Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon–spreading millionaire Washington special-interest lobbyist.' But voters loved the truck. They didn't seem to mind that the candidate often switched from a sedan to the truck just miles from his appearances."
* The piece tries to undermine the campaign's "Fred's never even thought about being president before" narrative by citing an off-hand comment the senator made to reporters in 1998 about Al Gore dreading the remote prospect of having to run against him for the White House in 2000. (While I'm sure any red-blooded senator — especially a senator/actor — has fantasized plenty about being president, this is pretty thin gruel.)
* And then, as for condescending to Thompson supporters, there's the end of the article, which I'll reprint at a bit of length:
[describing a Thompson visit to Atlanta]
After the Christian rock band Avalon performed, Thompson was introduced. He read a patriotic poem about the war, took his bows, then sat down in the audience and watched with rapt excitement as the comedian Larry the Cable Guy glided through a set. "My doctor told me I had to give up eggs," said Larry, tugging at his trucker cap. "I said, ‘Why, because of my cholesterol?' He said, ‘No, your farts are killing us.'"
The arena echoed with laughter. Over in his seat, Thompson slapped his thigh and gave an "It's funny 'cause it's true" full-body shake. He seemed to be having the time of his life. It is hard to imagine Rudy or Romney, Hillary or Barack, sitting through the set, much less soaking it all in.
The fashionable book in high-level political circles these days, the one the candidates and their staffs have been talking about, is The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation by Drew Westen. The central idea is that voters don't make rational calculations about a candidate and his positions. They vote for the person they just plain like. Fred Thompson's best hope is that Westen is right.
Yes, red staters are all Larry the Cable Guy-loving rubes. Or at least that's the view from Manhattan.
Related Topics: GOP Primary
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