The Candidates
BEVERLY HILLS (AP) - After a failed run for president, Fred Thompson is getting back to pretending to be commander in chief.Hollywood’s high-powered William Morris Agency announced this week that it has signed the actor/politician, signaling a return to the screen for the former senator from Tennessee. Link
There was a time when I considered Thompson the best alternative to Mitt, should Mitt falter. Now I see that people were right to say he wasn’t really serious in his bid.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Come on, JB. He’s obviously not serious now, but he was serious back then. The problems with Fred’s campaign were not that he was treating the thing as a joyride.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am
The money is probably better, shorter hours, and more time with the family. He lost and obviously needed to look at his options.
Good choice. Thompson had two great moments: No hand shows, and when he took Huckabee to task for being more like a democrat.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:17 am
This means there is almost zero chance of Fred being McCain’s VP. I always thought even though Fred would be a lazy campaigner, he would be a good debater against whoever the Democrats pick for VP.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Thompson was a non-factor from day one and only gummed up the primaries further than it needed to be.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:08 am
It was too bad in away that Mr. Thompson ended up being only half a candidate in terms of his seriousness. It was the most Conservative candidate and I hope that many of his ideas live on.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Remember when Thompson said that he never aspired to be president and he wasn’t seeking the office for any accolades or power? I think he was quite serious. It seems to me he had the attitude of “well if everyone wants me to run and I think I can win, sure I’ll make a go of it. But if I don’t win it doesn’t bother me that much either”. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You just want to make sure your candidate will be willing to do whatever it takes when times get tough (because they sure will running as president), but it does prove that Thompson wasn’t power hungry or in it for status or anything else.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Fred is a good conservative who was ambivalent about running, but later got serious about it….too late. Given his total lack of executive experience, he was never really qualified to actually BE president, but he was as qualified as McCain, and better on the issues.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
6-
The problem is, a certain part of you has to need the accolades or power if you can make it through all the way. This isn’t just Thompson’s problem, this is the problem with the office. I don’t have a better alternative, but it is certainly a problem.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Fred Thompson was the only top tier GOP candidate who could not run against Hillary or Obama on strength of resume. Even Huckabee had 12 solid years as Chief Executive of Arkansas.
He seemed to only be interested in campaigning when the mood struck him, which wasn’t very often until the last month.
Nice enough man. Had great ideas. Never seemed to be able to deliver on them. Pity that.
I have no problem whatsoever with him returning to acting. Why not? He loves to do it. I wish him luck and Godspeed.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
eric #8
You can also want to be President for the opportunity it gives to serve your country.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
i feel the same way about rudy. he didnt throw any punches, goes out quietly. seems happy to be back at his law firm. it seems like rudy was going with the ‘ if they want me to run, i will, if i don’t win i don’t care’ route. romney and mccain were the only two that wanted to win, and huckabee just wanted some ego time.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I don’t get it, Jason — are you saying he shouldn’t return to his job after the campaign? What’s he supposed to do — starve?
Thompson and Rudy were the two I considered when it looked like McCain wouldn’t make it.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I am just saying he should have stayed involved in politics and promiting those “first principles” he thought was so important. Instead, he showed us he really was just in it for the heck of it.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Not everybody has $250 million — some folks need to make a living.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
BobH,
The only reason Mitt has a quarter of a billion dollars is that he did a better job of making a living than most of us. If you look at his life, he’s done a better job of just about everything than most of us. BTW, he was in a position to take billions from Bain, and do it legally….but he decided he wanted to leave the company that he founded in a healthy condition for the benefit of all the people he had recruited into it. Bain Capital is currently managing more than $40 Billion as a result.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
BobH I like that Thompson went back to TV, but why take a swipe at Romney’s money. He didn’t inherit it, he didn’t marry into it, he earned it. He went to college graduated top of his class and was successful at making a living, just like Rudy and others. Romney then went on to the volunteer part of his life and rather than just take money from others he used some of his own.
Class warfare is for democrats.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Jason I respect Thompson’s right to live his life as he choses. If he had won he would still be in politics. Personally I prefer jobs that you don’t have to run for re-election and I can still maintain my conservative values.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I still remember the one debate, in which Thompson first starting piling on with Huckabee and McCain, against Mitt, but after a while, he seemed to decide Mitt had needed some help, so he switched to piling on Huckabee and Rudy. When he got hot, he was a good debater! Personally, I still think Mitt should have ask him to be his VP before super Tuesday. If he would have, Mitt would have won Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri, and everything would have been different.
McCain would actually be able to show up and vote on the Senate floor some of the time..
March 24th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Nowhere did I say Romney did not earn his money. He does not now, however, need to work to support his family, therefore he can remain active in politics without having a paid position. Good for him, but Thompson does not have that luxury.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I am just saying he should have stayed involved in politics and promiting those “first principles†he thought was so important.
Maybe he can promote them as an actor. Ya think?
Instead, he showed us he really was just in it for the heck of it.
Riiiight. There’s no real that says that a politician has to stay a politician all his life or else he’s not serious about his principles.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
BobH point taken
March 24th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I think it entirely appropriate for Fred Thompson to return to acting. It is his profession. He does well at it. More power to him.
I really can’t think of anything else for Fred to do. He didn’t particularly enjoy his tenure as Senator. He’s not really interested in the Tennessee Governorship. The good citizens of Tennessee are unlikely to put him in those jobs, anyway. He is no spring chicken, after all. He obviously is not interested in returning to his small-firm law practice. It is highly unlikely McCain will pick him as VP.
So why shouldn’t he return to acting, a profession he enjoys, and one that isn’t too strenuous for someone in his time of life?
March 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
My lord, what would you prefer, Jason? That Thompson become a lobbyist?
Me, I am still waiting for Mitt to come back here to Michigan and fix our economy. Remember, he promised us it “was personal” for him; and that he “wouldn’t sleep until Michigan is back.” I think Mitt must be getting pretty tired ’bout now. Or were those things only if he got to be POTUS?
March 24th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I think Huckabee should go back to acting, too. Is that Gomer show still airing? John Kerry is fabulous in the Countrywide spot, I might add.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:07 am
me again I think it is called preaching where he comes from.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:01 am
k Dub,
What does this have to do with Mitt?
March 25th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
#23, K Dub,
Obviously this was if he became president, and that is completely understandable. Be realistic, please.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Worst candidate eva!