Yesterday's Republican debate on MSNBC had some fireworks between Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but the one man people focused on was Fred Thompson. How would he do in his first debate? Judging from some of the comments I've seen from both sides of the aisle...not so well.
I'll admit Fred's on my short list of Presidential candidates, but after yesterday's performance, he may not be on too many people's short lists. He didn't look or sound as Presidential as he has in the past or as he can sound. He sounded flat, tired, not at all like a leader. To some, this was the sign that Fred didn't have what it takes to run for the President. To others, it was excusable because it was his first real debate.
To me, it was not a good way to get people interested in Fred. With his later entry into the race, Thompson's learning curve is a lot steeper than the others'. Commentators said he had to really impress people out of the gate or else he'd be in trouble. I tend to agree, but there's another part of the situation that isn't getting discussed: that's not Fred's style. He's more laid back than his opponents, and that can, at times, come off as being tired and flat to some.
Having said that, I think Fred needs to punch up his stump speeches and make his personal appearances memorable and enjoyable. When you're having to ask people ot applaud for you, that's a problem, especially if you're a top-tier candidate. It's time for Fred to either put his whole heart into running, or drop out and thank pepole for considering him in the first place. And after he put moderator Chris Matthews in his place, it's safe to say Fred has at least some fire in the belly. So, it's a matter of bringing out that fire to energize Republicans. I hope he does that or else he'll pull down Ron Paul-style numbers and be tossed out of the race.
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TIKRIT - Six people were killed and 10 wounded when a car bomb exploded near the convoy of Colonel Jassim Hussein Mohammed, the chief of security of Salahuddin province, in the city of Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, a joint U.S. and Iraqi security centre said.
ZAAB - A suicide truck bomber killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded five others, including two civilians, in an attack on an Iraqi army base in the town of Zaab, 70 km (45 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, a police official said. Another police official reported seven casualties but no fatalities.
TAL AFAR - A Katyusha rocket landed on a house in the northern town of Tal Afar, killing five members of the same family and wounding five others, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded three civilians in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded two policemen and two civilians in eastern Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire on a minibus, killing one person and wounding six, in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded two people in Baghdad's Karrada district, police said.
BAGHDAD - One civilian was killed and six wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's Karrada district, police said.
BAGHDAD - One person was killed and five wounded when gunmen attacked a small bus carrying civil servants in the Bayaa district of southwestern Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and another person were killed when an explosives-rigged minibus targeted a KDP office near the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, Mosul's deputy governor Khesro Goran said. Sixteen people were wounded.
DIWANIYA - Gunmen killed two policemen in separate incidents in the city of Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
DIWANIYA - Three mortar rounds which landed in and around a girls' primary school in Diwaniya wounded 11 girls, three teachers and a man, police said.
Oneuron said...
The REAL Oneuron. ( A Bottom Line Blog First!....but don’t expect another anytime soon)
October 7, 2007 2:34:00 PM CST
Real Oneuron said...
Checkmate, Ace.
October 8, 2007 3:29:00 PM CST
Ace,
We'd be remiss in not recognizing that Fred didn't do well int he debate. While I'm not going to make excuses for him, we should remember that he hasn't participated in this sort of a debate format, and that when the rest of the field did this for their first time, none of them looked good either.
(Mitt sounded too rehearsed, McCain looked too tired, and Rudy looked like he was lost.)
Things have turned around for the frontrunners (unfortunately not for the also-rans, though Ron Paul serves as a decent comic relief guy now), and we're siure that things will turn around for fred. At least they had better unless he'd like to be out of the race by Super-Duper Tuesday. And he'd better start showing some emotion. He's running for president. Can he get a little excited, already?
Thomas
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