After months of buildup, Fred's entrance into the race was
mixed. Judging by how slowly his Website was
loading, traffic was probably through the roof, so that could be
seen as a vindication of the Leno strategy. On the other hand, the
appearance on Leno and the announcement video were rather
underwhelming. I thought he was perfectly likeable, but not
necessarily presidential. He didn't do anything to live up to the
enormous expectations by emitting the star power, charisma, or
communication skills that have been the basis for much of the
enthusiasm about his candidacy. His defense of skipping the
debates, by shifting to making fun of the 30-second answer format
and giving a nod to Newt Gingrich for his ideas about returning to
a Lincoln-Douglas type format, resonated with me as a general
comment. However, such high-mindedness seemed silly coming from
somebody who chose to launch his candidacy on a Hollywood comedy
show. Also, I'm not sure how well this comment is going to be
viewed by New Hampshire voters: "For those who talk about that New
Hampshire situation, I'm certainly not disrespecting them, but it's
a lot more difficult to get on the 'Tonight Show' than it is to get
into a presidential debate."
As for the video, a few things struck me. No doubt an attempt to
stave off laziness charges, he said early in the announcement that
he's going to "give this campaign all I've got to give." There was
a lot of talk about national security and economic issues in the
announcement, but not social issues. I found that rather odd,
because one of the primary rationales for his candidacy is that
social conservatives don't have a viable candidate among the
current field. This is reinforced by his campaign slogan:
"Security-Unity-Prosperity," which could have just as easily been
adopted by Rudy Giuliani. Don't get me wrong, I agree with just
about everything Thompson said in his video--but from a political
perspective it's odd that he wouldn't want to stress social issues
more. Stylistically, I found it jarring when the camera would cut
back and forth at different camera angles, because it gave the
video a staged, over-produced quality that reinforces the style
over substance criticism of Thompson. I was happy to hear him
discuss Social Security and entitlements, and it looks like that's
one issue he'll introduce to the debate, which I think is long
overdue.
But overall, I'm just thrilled that he's finally in the race so
we can have actual campaign appearances and policy positions to
discuss rather than this will-he-or-won't-he and how-will-he parlor
game we've been playing for months.
topics:
Entitlements, Social Security, Hollywood
