California Conservative

The title to Liz Sidoti’s article about Fred Thompson is what you’d expect from the AP:

Analysis: Thompson lacking substance

Here’s where they got that headline from:

Still, for all Thompson’s style, he left others waiting to hear more substance.

“I like him a lot, but the jury’s still out on him until he tells us more,” said Thomas Gilbert, 76, who traveled from Fayetteville, Ga.

His wife, Margaret Gilbert, 73, agreed: “He’s a good speaker and said things I think that essentially most Americans agree with, but I really don’t know that much about him or what he’d do.”

Those were the last three paragraphs of the article. Sheesh. Here’s some of what Ms. Sidoti wrote before that:

The White House aspirant put his Southern-tinged style on display in Columbia, S.C., last week. He pleased GOP activists with a 30-minute speech peppered with plainspoken points and folksy sayings. They clapped at his applause lines and laughed at his jokes as he commented on hot-button issues from Iraq and immigration to terrorism and taxes, and the dispirited state of the GOP.

At ease behind the podium, he grinned broadly and spoke in a conversational manner, glancing at notes before him and gesturing often, his eyeglasses in one hand. He made a self-depreciating joke about the Senate and Hollywood, invoked Reagan and, in his deep drawl, used phrases like “hitched up our belts” and “the dogs ain’t eatin’ the dog food when they put that one out there.”

Republicans raved.

“His style was very different. It’s a little folksy, a little refreshing in a race that’s going to get spirited,” said Katon Dawson, the GOP chairman in South Carolina. Added Chip Felkel, a Republican consultant in the state: “I was impressed. He has the ability to talk to people like he’s sitting on their front porch.”

“I don’t see any political correctness. He tells it like it is,” gushed Charlie Lybrand, a county registrar in Charleston. “He is who he is.”

Something stands out for me from the negative ending. The retired couple said that they drove “from Fayetteville, GA” to Colombia, SC to hear Sen. Thompson speak. I checked Mapquest to see just how long of a drive that was. Here’s what I found:

Fayetteville, GA US-Columbia, SC US Revise: Total Est. Time: 3 hours, 41 minutes Total Est. Distance: 229.25 miles.

The fact that the Gilberts drove almost 4 hours to hear Thompson’s speech is pretty incredible. They obviously think highly of him.

That should’ve been the AP’s lead to this article.

Instead, the headline focuses on their desire to learn more about him. They certainly weren’t slamming the door on Thompson. Quite the contrary. They’re doing a great job of doing their due diligence. Sen. Thompson has obviously made a great first impression on them so they’re ‘kicking the tires’ on Thompson. I suspect that they’ll commit to him the minute they learn more about Sen. Thompson’s beliefs and policies.

A headline that would’ve been appropriate would’ve been:

Thompson Makes Great First Impression in South Carolina

Now let’s talk about what the other candidates should worry about. This phrase really stands out:

“I was impressed. He has the ability to talk to people like he’s sitting on their front porch.”

I’ve often said that there are several thresholds that presidential candidates must meet to be taken seriously: the fundraising threshold, the policy threshold and the likability threshold.

Based on the crowd’s reaction, he’s clearly passed the likability test. Sen. Thompson should be encouraged by the fact that they’re curious about his policies. They aren’t passing final judgment on him just because they don’t know everything about him. Some politicians never get that type of benefit. Once people like the Gilberts learn that Thompson’s policies square with his Goldwater libertarianism, I suspect that he’ll pull in alot of support, both in terms of financial support and organizational support.

That leaves the fundraising threshold as the last threshold to surpass. Based on what we’ve read here, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Where there’s enthusiasm, the cash is soon to follow.

Finally, the crowd’s reaction should worry Hillary bigtime. The reason why Bill’s campaigning with her is because she’s as likeable as a cactus. Fred Thompson clearly knows the issues cold, he’s likeable, he’s the personification of gravitas and he’s a straight shooter.

His campaign bus is this year’s Straight Talk Express.

Technorati Tags: Fred Thompson, Gravitas, Straight Talk Express, Goldwater, Libertarianism, Fundraising, Hillary, Political Correctness, Bill Clinton, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 7:57 am and is filed under Author: Gary Gross, Election 2008, Hillary, Immigration, Internet, Iraq, Patriotism, Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.