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Fred and Lamar

By Philip Klein on 6.6.07 @ 9:07AM

A commenter to my post below on F. Thompson writes:

The new Lamar Alexander...whoopee...get Fred a lumberjackshirt and roll up the sleeves....

The Lamar comparison is something that has ocurred to me recently, and not just because both men are from Tennessee, but because like Alexander before him, Thompson is running as a regular guy who shares everybody's frustration with Washington. Granted, Thompson has a lot more charisma than Alexander, but I think there's a comparison to be made in terms of their populist messages.

UPDATE: Another one chimes in:

Fred Thompson did exactly what he should have done at this juncture, and that was to effectively articulate his unique grasp of, and perspective on the problems and issues that are of greatest concern to voters. Please tell us you didn't really think he was going to use the venue of an often-times tabloidish TV talk/argument show to lay out his entire policy agenda. And this without even being a full-fledged candidate?? To use the contemporary vernacular, "GET REAL!"

Fair enough. But the point is, now that he has moved from the realm of a fantasy candidate to a likely candidate who is "testing the waters" he has to begin to offer more. And those who have been building him up as the savior of the party should begin making a much more substantive case for his candidacy than they have been up until now. It's okay to have a wait and see attitude, but there are people out there declaring him the winner of last night's debate, and I don't know what they were watching. I sat through two hours of candidates wrestling with challenging questions, giving detailed answers, and offering solutions. Then I watched Thompson ruminate on our challenges in a softball interview with Sean Hannity. And don't get me wrong, I actually like Thompson and agreed with much of what he had to say. But when you're running for the most powerful job in the world, you need to bring more to the table. Obviously, it's still early, and I look forward to seeing more from him.