At this point, I have to wonder if the Thompson excitement isn’t just a Republican rorschach test, with everyone reading his or her own preferences into what Thompson is saying. In fact, some Republicans seem to be more drawn to how he talks than as to what he is saying, from the Washington Post:
Larry Smith, owner of a Newport Beach investment firm, said Thompson’s ability to speak simply and directly about issues could be what Republicans need after six years of Bush.
“I think communication has been a real problem for the Republican Party,” Smith said. “We need a better communicator and he has a unique and straightforward way of talking.”
I’m more drawn to what a Republican consultant said at the end of the Washington Post article:
“‘Almost’ candidates always look better than real candidates until the moment they become real candidates,” said Republican consultant Dan Schnur. “You always want what you don’t have.”
What will happen when Republicans realize that Thompson shares many of the same problematic positions as John McCain?
Mr Deaver sees the same raw material in Mr Thompson as was perceived in Ronald Reagan, describing him as someone “that could really make a difference”. He added: “He is very popular in his party. He could change this whole thing and turn this primary system upside down.
“As Ronald Reagan used to say, after he stole a line from Al Jolson, ‘Stay tuned, you ain’t seen nothing yet’.”
There’s no hard words in the article that would indicate that Deaver is working on behalf of Thompson; Shipman even uses the words “seal of approval” instead of “endorsing.” It’s a little early to say that Thompson has all these heavy players working on his behalf, but it seems clear they are at least open to the idea.
The advisers say Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC’s “Law & Order,” is researching ways to use technology — including the Web, videoconferences and teleconferences — to harness the enthusiasm for his candidacy among grass-roots bloggers and activists. The campaign also would rely on large events, such as those that have in part supplanted country-store campaigning for some in the Democratic field.
“Well-known candidates can do things a little differently,” explained one adviser. “You show up, you’re accessible, but you don’t have to go to every county seat several times.”
I’m not sure I can buy that. Thompson isn’t exactly polling at what Bush was 8 years ago. He’s going to have to get out there on the ground and win some states in order to even become the front runner. For me, it’s not the Thompson campaign that’s hard to understand - that’s easy. It’s the campaign style being talked about that no one seems to be wondering about one way or another. Even Hillary Clinton is travelling to the back corners of Iowa. I can’t see how Thompson can realistically avoid a tough, hard campaign if he hopes to win.
Thompson has another problem: raising money. It’s easy to say it will be easy, but raising large sums of money (particularly the huge sums in thiss election) is never easy. McCain backer Charlie Black was quoted in the NY Times as saying, “I just wonder how he is going to start this late and have the campaign infrastructure, local organizations on the ground in the early states and raise the money. … Celebrity doesn’t pay for an airline ticket to Des Moines.â€