Fred Thompson, as far as the South goes is a clear and present danger to win the presidency!

Fred Thompson is the only asterisk to the positives on Gore's ability to win Tennessee if he decides too?

Gore is the only person in Tennessee history to carry every congressional district in a statewide election, however Fred Thompson who comes along later has the record for the most votes ever garnered by a person running for statewide office in Tennessee.

I don't think Gore can beat Thompson, not in the South? Thompson scares me!

I had not considered him to be a potential candiditate at all?

Newt can be beat!

This is not good!

I hope the Repugs find a way to discourage Thompson from running?

"This business will get out of control and we will be lucky to live through it." (Red October).

Thompson's down-folk manner worked in Tennessee, but he has a past that will be exposed if he runs. He has a way about him that attracts people, but his tenure in the senate was without fanfare. He fits right in with the GOP beliefs, but he has been with Bush on every account, and that includes sending more troops to Iraq. He is out of touch with most of the US, but down here in Tennnesee most of the people are blind to the truth. The GOP has taken over our state. When he ran the first time for the senate, he wore a plaid shirt and drove a red pick-up truck across Tennessee, and the people fell for it. If one would open their eyes and see him for what he is worth, they would not vote for him. But the GOP is so hungry for something that they would take anything.

I thought about that too. Fred Thompson was the last Republican that I will admit voting for when I was living in Tennessee. However, I watched him on Faux News Sunday, and he was in lock step on all the Republican issues, anti-gun control, anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion, and for spending more money and valuable American lives in the elective war of aggression. He definitely came across as much more conservative than the Fred Thompson I remember from his Senate days. Then, he seemed more pragmatic.

Fred is an exciting character spewing the same talking points. America is ready to turn the page on this crowd, and Fred Thompson is not the answer.

As for Tennessee, I never include my home state in any national calculations for President anymore. Due to many factors of which literalist evangelical brain-washing is one, Tennessee has somehow regressed from being a newly enlightened example of the New South to returning to its pre-segregation border state mentality. Gore would have a hard time in Tennessee regardless of the Republican nominee. Fred Thompson would make it only slightly more problematic.

The problem I see here in Texas with Thompson is that so many still see him through his role in his days of Law and Order.

Even then he showed signs of hard right wing and he didn't even write the script. I know how often he used the line about how much he believed in the constitution...but I wonder?

Uh Remember Ronald Reagan? Do NOT discount the value of image!

Fred has an American Icon image!

It isn't just Tennessee, he is a super debater, an actor, an elder with Watergate credentials and I just don't buy that America is that ready to tilt to the left?

Oh I hope so, but for my money, Fred is the only threat they can mount?

He comes off as Tough, American, brave, etc. His image is what counts, only politicos care about his agenda? The people in play, the ones that will decide will vote on the feeling about the person not their stance on an issue!

I have a hard time believing that anyone other than the 30% who currently think bush is doing a good job would rush to fred's bandwagon.

The other 20% who supported bush in elections but now disapprove know they got burned - bad - by voting for the good ole boy they'd like to have a beer with

And of those who would have voted against bush but stayed home, a LOT will make the effort next time. they know they got burned - bad - by their complacency

Who knows if Fred Thompson will even re-enter politics? There's a good chance he won't ; the conservatives are just having a difficult time finding anyone they like this cycle. Bush and Cheney have screwed things up so bad that few thinking people would vote Republican for President. Sadly thinking people don't alway decide elections :!:

It will be interesting to see Al Gore testify in Washington DC on March 21st. I hope you have all been to AlGore.com and Barbara Boxer's website in support. If not, there is still time. This would be a good time to counter the electricity use smears from after winning the Oscar and getting some more momentum and and good press going again. It was good to see that in spite of the right wing press attack the liberal press did a pretty good job of defending Al on their own.

I agree with oleblueraider on the image thing- ya don't have to go back
to reagan -There is a steroid addled butt grabber as the governor
of California and a retard in the Whitehouse.

They're experts at packaging and marketing!

Image and packaging are important - let's face it :huh:
Whether your selling candy bars or getting voted in as a Senator.

For too long Democrats have not really been playing hardball on the image and packaging field of competition. Or, they have been playing only to their own base and turning off the independent swing voters.

Sometimes the best image is to not look like you're trying to contort yourself to fit the image you think voters want. Sometimes the best image is to be real.

Al Gore is very good at that. :coolwink:

It's always interesting watching someone trying to be real[I] :wacko:
like hillary.

Headlines local is that Fred is debuting at number three with only a feeler out?!

Certainly seems ironic that a good counter to the "Hollywood" liberals takeback of the White House is the Image that Fred automatically carries of in-charge and fit to lead, etc?

Hollywood will blind folks to the fact that he is to the right of Bush?

Um, please elaborate... you say "statewide", but did you mean for any statewide office? Not to be a thorn in your side Blue, but Tennessee's current governor took every county in 06. And perhaps I am wrong if Bredesen took all the counties, but not all the districts. Let's throw in the fact that I drink a lot and my facts tend to get blurred at times. I looked into this stuff when we were given an opportunity to go out of state to different Ford facilities and I was thinking about going to Memphis. Quite a bit aways from my childhood stomping grounds near Pigeon Forge (Seymour to be exact) but still a state I love dearly.

Definitely NOT taking anything away from Gore, but Phil Bredesen (D) could actually help Al in Tennessee- so let's not forget his accomplishments lest we ruffle his feathers! :D LOL

Err, are we forgetting that Al Gore lost Tennessee in 2000?

That fact is grabbed onto by the righties as a diversion whenever the Florida 2000 shenanigans was brought up. The idea being that anyone who loses his home state is such a sad sack that he deserves to lose the election, no matter how crookedly the loss was engineered.

Al Gore hasn't represented Tennessee in a long time, his popularity there is not of overriding importance anymore. If he can pick up the state, great. But it isn't that big of a deal.

That can cut two ways.

His character on the show is that of a politician who has some beliefs, but is frequently willing to abandon them for the sake of political survival. Moreover, his character is frequently shown off hours in expensive private clubs with the swells. If Thompson is going on his Law & Order image, he can permanently forget about the red shirt and pickup truck.

How about the episode where a bulletproof vest maker was shown to make a defective vest which got a soldier in Iraq killed? The Pentagon was shown as wanting to play down an incident and urged Thompson's character to keep the matter hush hush. Thompson agreed, to the anger of the prosecutor involved.

There are plenty of episodes on that show where Thompson's character acts less than admirably. I'm not sure that show is going to help him imagewise.

I remember that episode tinkerer. Unfortunately that kind of character is what appeals to the red shirted, pickup drivers in Texas.

At any rate, there are plenty of times that Thompson's character is shown as being more interested in covering his political butt than in doing what is right. He's not a bad guy on the show, he does do the right thing a fair percentage of the time, but he's not a total hero, either.

The show helps Thompson get name recognition at this early stage, but I am not sure it really helps people to vote for him once they recognize him.

Rex in the City: Nashville Fred
By Rex Noseworthy, rnoseworthy@nashvillecitypaper.com
June 25, 2007

Fred Thompson’s presidential rising star is about to land in Nashville in a big way, according to sources close to his campaign.

It is no secret Thompson is making a Tennessee swing this week, hitting Nashville Tuesday for a high dollar fundraiser courtesy of country music mogul Mike Curb and Pilot Oil CEO Jim Haslam.

But what GOP insiders in the state are buzzing about is that Thompson will set up a Nashville office for his “testing the waters” presidential campaign sometime in the next few weeks if not the next several days.

The same GOP sources tell Rex uber Republican strategist and fundraiser Kim Kaegi is heading up the effort. Kaegi is regarded by many to be one of the best GOP organizers this state has ever seen, leading similar efforts for Thompson in 1994 as well as U.S. Sen. Bob Corker in his campaign last year.

She is also a monster fundraiser in Tennessee, and sources tell Rex this effort is the kick-off for a drive to raise $10 million to $12 million in a hurry from the Volunteer State.
The Tuesday fundraiser is a paltry $2,300 per person.