I'm the new contributer for the "Thompson" report. I guess it's appropriate to just use "Thompson" now since Tommy Thompson has dropped out of the primary running. I'm a fairly new republican, having moved from the independent side.
I'm a supporter of Fred Thompson. There are a lot of reasons why I am, but I won't address them here. But I would like to bring up an article I read in today's DC Examiner.
Pretty much everyone and their pet dog is expecting Fred to join the race sometime in September. His successful "campaign" has bought him a lot of publicity and a great deal of fanfare. It's like the few minutes before the main act of the concert. The audience waits in anticipation...and it is because they have to wait that make it worthwhile.
Huckabee criticized this by saying, "I think he's going to suck a lot of the oxygen out of the room when he first comes in. But I'm not sure I'd want to be in his position where the expectations are simply just sky-high for him to be able to perform."
While I would agree that there is a lot of hype over Thompson's entry, I'm not sure if I would go so far to say that he's going to fail under high expectations. Yes, there are many people that can't wait what he'll do to the race; but the very FACT that he has waited shows that he is a patient man. I think his supporters understand this. I think he will be able to take these expectations in stride.
Fred has an air about him that is serious, but also nonchalant. He knows he's popular, but he doesn't let it get to his head. He uses his popularity to benefit his campaign, but restrains himself from being the center.
I hope to see Fred's official announcement soon. But I think it's safe to say that his announcement to make an official announcement is proof enough that he's running.