Jennifer, James and Phil: Any thoughts on what Fred’s
fundraising numbers mean for his “official” entrance into the
campaign?
I don’t see how can he can afford to hold off his announcement
for more than another two weeks. The positive buzz he has generated
by being a “non-candidate” candidate is over. It has been killed by
an inept blunder on abortion that turned what should have been a
two-day news story into a two-week one and then the shake up in his
staff. Now it is clear they didn’t raise enough money in June to be
able to say, “Look how good we are doing even though our candidate
hasn’t entered the race.” Indeed, quite the opposite.
For a candidate that’s already in the race, this would be the
time to start a new advertisement campaign or roll out a new policy
proposal so as to stop the negative train in its tracks. Problem
is, Thompson can’t do either of those since he’s not officially in
the race.
Thompson needs to make it official, and during his speech
announcing his intent to run he needs to outline his agenda for
America, much like Rudy’s twelve principles. This would get the
positive press flowing again and help turn his campaign back in the
right direction.
