Verbosities

Stealth candidate ramps up game - Politico.com

Friends of Thompson said he would probably announce whether he’ll run for president in June or July.

In making that decision, he must determine if the opening for a rock-ribbed conservative is clear enough to make up for his deficit in fund-raising, organizing in early states, and recruiting of staff and supporters.

Five days after the first fawning will-he-or-won't-he Freddie foxtrot, the Politico pushes another profile of Thompson's pre-campaign campaign in glowing terms.

Politico is run by a former Reagan operative, so it's really not surprising that the coverage is slanted in Thompson's favor. He is, after all, the physical model of the so-called "rock-ribbed conservative" at this point of the campaign. What does that mean anyway?

"Firm and unyielding, especially with regard to one's principles, loyalties, or beliefs." [The Free Dictionary]

Thompson absolutely is the "stealth" candidate at this point, and he's benefitting from staying outside the fray. The dissatisfaction felt in conservative circles over Giuliani, McCain and Romney allows Thompson to both look like a potential savior, as well as giving him the benefit of a few months of conservative pining and projection to construct the framework around what direction to take his campaign.

He'd be stupid not to take another 30-60 days to let op-ed pieces and polling data accumulate to tell him which way the wind is blowing, but does that sound like someone who's "firm and unyielding" in his beliefs, or someone who's waiting to see who everyone else wants him to be?

If we acknowledge that Thompson has had two politically important pre-campaign campaign stops in the last two weeks, and if we acknowledge that sourcing The Politico means we're getting reports on these speeches that are neutral-to-favorable as far as their bias is concerned, here's what we know about the guy so far:

Fred Thompson takes O.C. star turn - May 5, 2007

He didn’t detail exactly how a President Thompson – or even a candidate Thompson – would repair the discourse and set about getting things done, but he offered reassuring, optimistic rhetoric that what may seem like steep challenges can be overcome they way they’ve always been.

“We’ve been there before,” Thompson noted, reminding the crowd about problems the nation has faced in its history.

“This is not our first rodeo,” he added to laughs from a crowd more familiar with riding BMWs than bulls.

As broad as his well-received speech was, Thompson did hint at some topics he may return to in a presidential bid.

It wasn't an empty speech, exactly, but free trade (lowering trade barriers) and border security (to a SoCal audience filled with the white elite) aren't the types of issues that are going to set him apart from the rest of the pack. Point is, he's walking the middle ground here, saying just enough to be taken seriously, but not so much that he's in danger of outlining what he believes in.

By the way, note that The Politico called his speech "well-received" on May 5, and the whole of the article was genuinely positive ("The only question now is whether Thompson sticks to playing the hero in make-believe, like John Wayne, or if -- like Ronald Reagan -- he tries out for the role in real life."). Contrast that with this clip from a May 8 post:

F. Thompson sharpens strategy - May 8, 2007

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson acknowledges his coming-out speech in California last weekend didn't live up to expectations, advisers say, and he is planning a tighter and sharper message dubbed "Stump Speech 2.0" for a Saturday night event to be attended by key conservative leaders.

Good to see the pre-campaign campaign acknowledging that there needs to be more meat and less filler in front of the Saturday night crowd. So how'd he do?

Stealth candidate ramps up game

“Some of your friends, knowing that you are thinking about running for president, urge you to give a rousing campaign speech,” the potential candidate said of his preparations for the speech.

But instead, he said, he chose to discuss his “first principles,” focusing on one that he’s associated with through his television appearances: “the rule of law.”

“It is a sad irony that a nation that is so dedicated to the rule of law is doing so much to undermine the respect for it,” Thompson said.

Thompson said his cues in public life come from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

“They include a recognition of God and the fact there are certain rights that come from Him and not the government,” he said.

“They are based upon a respect for the wisdom of the ages, and a belief that human beings are prone to err -- that too much power must never rest in too few hands.”

More generally empty platitudes. The invocation of "values" and "rule of law," combined with the "recognition of God" (ostensibly to pander to Dobson after the "not a Christian" crack) are all inherently meaningless statements, and are so by design. Alberto Gonzales uses the phrase "rule of law," and he's the same guy that called the Geneva Convention's laws on torture "quaint." So, really, Thompson isn't outlining policy and stating what it is he's for, except in the most generic of all terms.

It's smart. Why give pundits a chance to pick apart your beliefs, when instead you can figure out what the people tell you that you should be for, and find a way to come to them rather than making them take or leave you on your own terms? In the interim, however, let's not start tagging Freddie as "rock-ribbed," until we know what those ribs are made of.

*By the way, after his seemingly non-ironic exaltation of the "rule of law," he called for the pardon of Scooter Libby, saying, "When you rectify an injustice under the law, just as when you reverse an erroneous court decision, you are not disregarding the rule of law, you are enforcing and protecting it." Of course, he's simply referring to laws and rulings with which he disagrees, like when an important conservative is convicted by a jury of lying under oath. When it's a liberal, let's look for consistency.

Oh wait (read the last paragraph).

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