Farewell, Fred

As you know by now, Fred Thompson has departed the GOP race. It is unfortunate that he did not do better in the early primaries, but after his 3rd place finish in South Carolina, there wasn't much reason for him to hang around. His departure will likely help Romney the most in Florida, or maybe Rudy. It is speculated, however, that his absence will help the dreaded Mike Huckabee in Southern states on Feb. 5. I hope not.

As for the future, I have decided to throw my support to Rudy Giuliani. Read about that decision here.

I'm not sure what it means for the GOP that the only true conservative candidate was rejected. While Fred did have his flaws, I would have thought he would have gotten many more votes in the early contests. I hope this doesn't mean the party is moving towards the center, especially on economic issues, which is where Huckabee and, to a lesser extent, McCain, would take us.

Give 'Em Hell, Fred

At last night's debate, Fred Thompson gave a forceful exposition on why Mike Huckabee is not a conservative, and showed by extension that he himself is one.



Also, big endorsement here.

Fred Still In It

Fred Thompson hasn't been getting a whole lot of media attention recently. He's been lost in Mike Huckabee's rise and religious spat with Mitt Romney. But Fred scored big at the Iowa debate yesterday. Here's a roundup of reactions. People liked that he refused to play the "raise your hand" game, that he spoke hard truths about Social Security, and that he took a swipe at the National Education Association.

I think Fred is in a good position now. He's currently 3rd in Iowa and 2nd in South Carolina (he's way down in New Hampshire, but that state doesn't appear to be part of his strategy). I expect the Huckaboom to dissipate as his record becomes widely disseminated, and this will put Fred in position to get at least 2nd in Iowa, thus increasing his standing in the race, and giving him a good shot at winning South Carolina. This in turn will put him in a fine position come Super Tuesday.

Programming Note

Fred Thompson will be appearing on Meet the Press tomorrow morning. Be there or be nowhere.

Presidential Update

I'm not a huge John McCain fan, although I do recall supporting him at the Minnesota caucus I attended in 2000. However, he seems to be clawing his way back into the race. He had the best line in the last GOP debate, and since that's how you win these things, for better or for worse, he got some good media from it. Check this out.

Fred Thompson unveiled his immigration plan this week. I like it. Too often we are told that mass deportation or amnesty are our only two options. I disagree, and so does Fred:

Attrition through Enforcement. Reduce the number of illegal aliens through increased enforcement against unauthorized alien workers and their employers. Without illegal employment opportunities available, fewer illegal aliens will attempt to enter the country, and many of those illegally in the country now likely will return home. Self-deportation can also be maximized by stepping up the enforcement levels of other existing immigration laws. This course of action offers a reasonable alternative to the false choices currently proposed to deal with the 12 million or more aliens already in the U.S. illegally: either arrest and deport them all, or give them all amnesty. Attrition through enforcement is a more reasonable and achievable solution, but this approach requires additional resources for enforcement and border security.

I also like this:

End Sanctuary Cities by cutting off discretionary federal grant funds as appropriate to any community that, by law, ordinance, executive order, or other formal policy directs its public officials not to comply with the provisions of 8 USC 1373 and 8 USC 1644, which prohibit any state or local government from restricting in any way communications with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an alien in the United States.

Debate Debut

The latest GOP Presidential debate will take place Tuesday. Normally, these things don't excite me much, but tomorrow will, of course, be the first in which Fred Thompson participates. This debate occurs just as we learn Fred has moved into second place in Iowa, which holds the first major contest. Mitt Romney is in first, but he's already spending big money there, and he's still doing poorly in national polls.

The pundits have not given Fred rave reviews in the time since he became a candidate. They claim he's lackadaisical and uninspiring. I don't put a whole lot of stock in their observations, though; it's what GOP voters think that matters. And all eyes will be on Fred tomorrow.

The debate will take place at the odd hour of 4 PM Eastern. The last GOP debate was webcasted by Fox News, but I see no indication so far that that will happen tomorrow. Unfortunately, partisan hack Chris Matthews will be the debate moderator. Hopefully the candidates put him in his place when he gets out of line, which he will.

Select a Candidate

MacKenzie's mom passed this quiz along to me. You answer 11 questions about your stance on several issues, and it compares your responses to those of the Presidential candidates, to find which one you are most closely aligned with.

My top four were:

• John McCain

• Fred Thompson - Duncan Hunter (tie)

• Tom Tancredo

(Note to Mac's mom: I retook it after sending you my results.)

Apparently, McCain is the only one of the four who agrees with me that ethanol is lame. It also says I differ from all but Tancredo on immigration. Maybe that's true, but there's a big difference between McCain and Thompson on immigration, although this quiz doesn't differentiate.

The quiz says I agree with McCain that the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent. McCain, however, voted against those tax cuts when they were originally instituted.

Despite my understanding of the limitations of this quiz, I think it's safe for me to throw out McCain because I disagree with him on several important issues, and throw out Duncan Hunter because he has no chance. Once I do that, this quiz confirms that my support for Fred is appropriate.

I'd be interested in your results and observations.

Leno Video

If you happened to miss the Tonight Show last night, despite my reminder, you can catch Fred's appearance here.

Programming Note

Don't forget to tune into the Tonight Show tonight to see Fred Thompson in advance of his big announcement!

Fred...?

According to the polls, Fred Thompson is in a close race with Rudy Giuliani for the top spot in the GOP Presidential race. However, his candidacy is still in the exploratory stage. There were rumors that he would enter earlier this month, but that didn't happen. Now there's talk that he may wait until September to enter. The word is that he would like to enter the race in first place, and that he's working on getting endorsements from Christian groups. I'm starting to get impatient for him to enter, but if he can pull his strategy off, it would be worth waiting a while longer. Plus, maybe this will teach future candidates not to start campaigning so darn early.

Fred and the Ladies

I found this interesting:

"In the battle for the women’s vote, Fred Thompson has a secret weapon against Hillary Clinton - the legions of former girlfriends who still adore him and who want him to be president."

I'd bet my old girlfriends would vote for me. Well, except for the liberal ones.

Fred's on the Web

Fred Thompson has an official website now. There's not much up there yet, but keep checking. I'll link to it over on the right for your handy reference.

Fred Train Rolls On

The momentum for a potential Fred Thompson presidential bid continues to build. Word is that several close allies of Ronald Reagan are backing him. Fifty or so Congressional Republicans showed up to meet him in Washington recently. And a highly unscientific straw poll of Republican blog readers shows him winning in a rout. It doesn't sound like he can formally enter the race until after the Law & Order season ends in May, and he also has some Paul Harvey fill-in work to do, so that may be a few weeks off. But it looks more and more likely.



Update: Fred Commentaries!