After A Summer To Plan The Launch, How Did Fred Do?

Like many conservatives, I have been watching Fred Thompson's non-candidacy with considerable interest. There was certainly an intrigue in a former politician and actor with significant conservative pedigree jumping into the race. Thompson was never the bright ideological star like Newt Gingrich but he served in the Senate with distinction and certainly seemed to carry with him a fundamental dislike for big government and endless political shenanigans. And with none of the Republican contenders able to capture the imagination of conservatives, the possibility of Thompson loomed large.

Finally here...
That takes us to Wednesday -- Annnouncement Day. Word spread of Thompson's strategy -- ad during the debate (but a no show), Jay Leno and midnight web video launch. OK, they have a plan. That afternoon I received an unexpected call from a friend who had been telemarketed Wednesday afternoon and excitedly made a pledge. That same afternoon, we released the results from Grassfire's August Straw Poll which indicated that among the Grassfire audience (a large and fair representation of grassroots conservatives), support for Thompson had actually increased from May -- despite all the pundits' reports of the Senator/Actor's mistakes over the summer. In fact, Thompson had a 2-to-1 margin over his closest competitor, Mitt Romney, for the conservative vote. Clearly, conservatives are looking for a leader and many are hoping it is Thompson.

I didn't watch the debate and I missed Leno -- a combination of a daughter's volleyball match, U.S. Open Tennis and needing sleep. But first thing Thursday I tracked down the Leno appearance on You Tube and scoured the web for reports on the Thompson announcement. Leno was Okay at best and not all that funny. Plus, McCain had the best line from the debate ("Maybe we're past his bedtime").

Then I made it to Fred08.com and started watching the official introduction to candidate Thompson.

Houston, we've got a problem.
How did I know we had a problem? I couldn't make it through the video in one sitting. Or two. It took me three sittings to get through the whole video and I missed entire sections while tending to other important website surfing.

The content was good, but it didn't grab me. Too long (nearly 15 minutes). Boring. Bad setting. No energy. If they had broken up the presentation into three of four segments with one strong intro, it may have worked. And I noticed that he doesn't smile. Where is the inspiring vision of the "city set on a hill"? Where were the people? Why is he alone in his mahogany office?

Please don't misunderstand my analysis -- I'm looking at Thompson's first 24 hours analyzing his political strategy, not my personal preference or even the substance of his positions, which are strongly conservative.

No debate and diapers in the Lincoln bedroom
Another example: why the intentional choice to slight the debate? This is no accident. But was it a good move? I think it would have been better to announce the night before, barnstorm the day of, and show up at the debate and steal the show by taking all the barbs and attacks from the other candicates head-on. Or, miss the debate altogether, leak your imminent announcement, and annnounce the next day.

And while I knew Thompson had been divorced and then married to a woman much younger than him, actually seeing this very grandfatherly looking figure with his 10 month old child at the Des Moines rally seemed a bit odd. I wonder how America will embrace a 65 year old president changing his own children's diapers in the White House. Maybe we're ready for that. I'm not sure.

Looking for Leadership
The conservative movement needs leadership. America needs leadership. I am hopeful that a leader will emerge who will both articulate Reagan ideals and bring our nation together. It may very well be Fred Thompson. He has the stature. He has the conservative pedigree. He has the vital experience of communicating through the lens of video. He seems to be in this for real. We've been watching him from afar. Let the dating begin.