Fred Thompson as GOP Obama?
26 April 2007By Alicia Colon, Jewish World Review
Are the Republicans being as silly about Fred Dalton Thompson as the Democrats are about Barack Obama? According to some headlines, the GOP is salivating about the idea of having Sen. Thompson jump in the race because none of the other candidates seem to be igniting the entire party. Yet it is the height of madness for the Democrats to think that Obama has any chance with his left of center record and inexperience to capture the presidency. Given Thompson’s own lack of administrative experience, are the Republicans being just as unrealistic? I don’t think so.
My family has always voted Democrat and I recently polled the New Yorkers here who voted for Sen. Clinton to inquire what they thought about the upcoming presidential election and their answers were rather surprising. None of them found Hillary Clinton appealing because, as one relative told me, “she hasn’t done very much for us as senator.” As for Obama, they felt he sounded all right, said the right things but they admitted they knew little about him. Juanita, my sister who lives in Dobbs Ferry, said she might vote for McCain. Rose in Queens, however, says it’s too early, but she also concurred that Obama had little chance of winning a national election. She thinks America isn’t ready for a black president. I happen to disagree but Obama is not the one and his recent photo op taken with Al Sharpton is just one of the reasons.
My family out west in California was similarly uninspired by any of the Dem frontrunners and I strongly suspect they are tempted to sit this one out. I don’t blame them because the Democratic Party seems to have lost its collective mind. Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Kucinich? Is that the very best it can do? Are there no Zell Millers or Joe Liebermans left? Now the latest rumors have Al Gore assembling a campaign team in secret and if this isn’t a sign of desperation, I don’t know what is.
The Republicans have a much stronger field of candidates- any one of whom is suitable for the job and likely to carry on with the war in Iraq until the job is done. This should be the most important issue with Americans. Never in recent history has there been more of a division between the two party platforms.
The Democrat leaders including all the current presidential candidates are for an Iraq pullout before total victory is secured. Majority leader Harry Reid said last week the war is lost. The Democrats tried to stop the tax cuts which have fueled the economic boom and are now trying to cap them; they’ve tried to repeal the Patriotic Act which has helped prevent numerous terrorist acts here; they are for gay marriage and gun control; they support funding for embryonic stem cell research and are pro choice when it comes to abortion on demand. They have halted all efforts to reform social security even though they admit the system will be unable to handle the upcoming influx of baby boomers.
The Republicans with a few exceptions are for none of the above. While the mainstream press is deliberately trying to depict the party as one that is in disarray, Republicans actually have an abundance of candidates preferable to any potential Democrat nominee which now brings us to Sen. Thompson.
In my column, “Giuliani Can Win,” I had noted that many conservatives were now willing to vote for the former New York City mayor because they viewed him as the only candidate who could beat Hillary Clinton. They would do so in spite of his position on abortion. But two things have occurred that explain why Giuliani’s poll numbers are dropping- the possibility that a viable conservative with name recognition, Fred Thompson, might enter the race and Giuliani’s statement that he’s for government funding of abortion.
Like many journalists I have been waiting for the opportunity to interview Thompson but I certainly do not begrudge him biding his time. Some critics say that he does not have the fire in the belly because he doesn’t like to campaign. I view that as evidence of a high intelligence. As for his announcement that he has non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, this only makes his choice of vice president of extreme importance but is not a hindrance to a presidency.
Republicans have done well with former actors and many conservatives are ready-check in hand-to support Fred Dalton Thompson, a man whose voting record as Senator has been consistently conservative. Pursuing Thompson is definitely not silly.
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