Achieving Liftoff???
That’s the question Peter Robinson is asking in this post at NRO’s Corner. Here’s the full post:
All eyes are naturally enough on the Michigan primary tomorrow—all eyes, that is, except mine, Jonathan Adler’s, and those belonging to readers of this happy Corner who have been wondering, along with Jonathan and me, when the polls down in South Carolina would finally begin to move in Fred Thompson’s direction. Now, Rasmussen reports, they have. Fred ain’t dead. Lately, as the South Carolina debate demonstrated to all the world, he ain’t even drowsy.
Which brings me to a question. Earlier today I talked with an old friend who’s close to the Thompson campaign. At every Thompson campaign stop in South Carolina, he told me, there is something new: real excitement. The crowds are big and growing by the day—for the first time, people are being turned away from Thompson events because they’re already full. The state troopers are showing that special deference and respect they reserve for candidates whom they actually suspect will soon become the commander in chief. And Thompson himself is pointed, energetic, combative. In other words, the campaign feels as though its achieving liftoff.
Are there any readers of this Corner in down in South Carolina who can confirm this? If you’re a citizen of the Palmetto State who has been to a Thompson event this week, I’d be obliged if y’all would drop me a line.
I’ve been wondering all weekend when the zombified media would pick up on the start to this ‘revolution-in-the-making’. While Peter Robinson and Jonathan Adler aren’t part of the Agenda (zombified?) Media, they’ve got a pretty significant readership. Now that they’re asking questions about the Fredhead Revolution, it won’t take long before it’s the subject on the cable news networks.
This isn’t just about growing crowds for Fred, either. When I last visited Fred08, the Red Truck Challenge had topped the $1 million mark. They’re even suggesting that all their small donors contribute $10 at 10 o’clock local time’. Since they issued that challenge, they’ve been averaging about $100,000 per day in online contributions.
Rasmussen’s polling shows Fred gaining ground, mostly at Mike Huckabee’s expense:
Over the past several days, the only real movement in South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary has been a four-point gain for Fred Thompson and a five-point decline for Mike Huckabee.
This polling doesn’t include John McCain’s immigration meltdown in Michigan either. I’d bet money that that won’t help McCain in South Carolina. In fact, I’d wager that it’ll damage him here.
The bottom line is that people are making a big mistake if they’re writing Fred off. I’m not predicting Fred as the next commander-in-chief. I’m not predicting him as the GOP nominee. But I certainly won’t rule those possibilities out either.
Technorati Tags: The Corner, Peter Robinson, Jonathan Adler, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Polling, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog