Tammy Bruce: Thompson Ambivalent About the Presidency

Thompson Ambivalent About the Presidency

The world is at war and ambivalence about being the Leader of the Free World just won't cut it. This is his problem and it shows. If there was ever a time we needed someone who wanted that office, with all the trouble and pressure that comes with it, it's now. You know what it's like to do something you could care less about, it affects your performance and your commitment. That's not what we need in the White House. I like Thompson and when he does chime in I like, generally, what he has to say, but my goodness, what a stupid waste of time.

Thompson: 'Not particularly interested in running'

Fred Thompson acknowledged Saturday he's not especially fond of running for president, but he thinks he'd be a good choice for the White House.

Asked at a town hall meeting in Burlington whether he had the desire to be president, Thompson said it wasn't his idea to seek the office, and he wasn't enamored with campaigning.

"I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it," he said. "I'm not particularly interested in running for president."

But he said others convinced him to run...

So while others are trying to convince people why we should vote for them, Thompson is doing an excellent job explaining why we shouldn't vote for him. Believe me, it's working.

Apparently, the new look of the average Thompson supporter.

UPDATE:

There are a number of proffered comments from newbies to this site, or those who have posted comments infrequently, who have threatened me, insulted me or accused me of being "biased" against Thompson for posting this story and not following up immediately with a response from him. Those comments, obviously, will not be published. Not that it's any of your business, but I've been busy on another project all day and apparently don't obsess about Freddy the way some of you do. I am also not the only source for information on any topic.

Bottom line: those of you who have threatened me, you are banned. Those of you, who even after reading this blog and knowing me, accuse of of some sort of grand conspiracy to malign Fred Thompson, you're banned (that sort of paranoia is just a little too MalNar for me). And for those of you who were generally insulting, patronizing, and basically misogynistic--you're banned, too. For those of you who accuse me of "censoring" this blog--here's a Newsflash--I am not a customer service representative nor is this blog a public posting portal. It's my blog which serves to disseminate my opinions. Comments are welcome that move the discussion along. Considering the sort of paranoia streaming out of the Fred supporters, you people are really starting to sound more and more like the Ron Paul moonbats.

So, bottom line, if you're too lazy to link through to the complete story which I always provide, that's your problem. Read the Comments and you will also usually find contradictory opinion or additional links which will make you feel the love and acceptance you perhaps did not get in my original post. Regardless of the Linda Blair moment many of you have experienced over this post, accept the fact that I and many others have assessed a rather passive, ambivalent approach by Fred Thompson from the beginning of his so-called campaign (whether or not Allahpundit "realizes it"). Most of us haven't needed the Establishment Media to recognize the man has an ambition problem, nor were we waiting for their opinion before we formed our own. His lack of enthusiasm has been painfully obvious from the beginning, and deeply disappointing if I may say. This story and his comments (including his attempt at damage control in the Red State article linked to in Comments) are not news to anyone.

Oh, and for those who say I'm the reason people don't trust "media" any more, I am not a journalist--all of my work is Opinion Analysis. My opinion, my analysis. For those of you who don't like it, get over it or take a hike.

For crying out loud. Oh yeah, and Happy New Year to you, too.

To finish this off, and to see how many more Fredheads will be moved into having another head-spinning moment, here's Pat Ess's take on things:

I'm savoring this Thompson quote: "I've gone out of my way to be myself..."

Who says Fred is lazy? Apparently he expends a lot of effort just being himself.

The Passion of the Fred

He concluded: "I've gone out of my way to be myself, because I don't want anybody to think they're getting something they're not getting. I'm not consumed by this process, I'm not consumed with the notion of being president. I'm simply saying I'm willing to do what's necessary to achieve it if I'm in sync with the people. And if the people want me, or somebody like me, I will do what I've always done with everything else in my life. I will take it on and do a good job."

The attitude has a populist ring, if you go out of your way to find it. It's almost admirable except you have to wonder if he's at all a man of conviction. He sounds to me like he'd be another Bush in thinking it's my job to give the boulder a push downhill, what happens next is the boulder's responsibility.

Thompson's campaign slogan should be "Que sera, sera".

Posted by Tammy · December 30, 2007 10:53 AM · Permalink
Just Plain Stupid | Politics

Comments

That was a very revealing article. I totally disagree with Thompson's opinion that we don't need a president who has a "fire in the belly". That's exactly what we need!

There's a difference between being passionate about something and being consumed by it. Passion, when kept in balance with the rest of your life, is healthy and vital to success personally and professionally. When passion crosses over to obsession, it becomes dangerous.

Thompson comes across as a Milquetoast and that's too bad.

Posted by: Kelly at December 30, 2007 11:50 AM

Why did this man even bother to announce he was running? From the start he seemed very lazy. And lo and behold, he's not really interested in running for President!?! Rather than waste time, he should just drop out and go back to Law and Order.

Posted by: SlimFemme at December 30, 2007 01:54 PM

Don't tell the Fredheads. They still think he's going to get the nomination!

Posted by: davenp35 at December 30, 2007 02:18 PM

I suppose that's one way of looking at what he's saying.

Another way of looking at it is, he's not going to do "whatever it takes", ie; lie, waffle, flip flop, pick a fight-play the victim, adopt a phony southern accent (wait, he doesn't have to, his is real) etc... just to get the job, unlike all the other clowns running for the White House.

Personally, I find that rather refreshing in a candidate.

Posted by: RagingBullmoose at December 30, 2007 02:58 PM

Oh, I must disagree. IMHO, Fred, or someone like him, is exactly what we need in the White House. I recommend viewing what Fred really said, and his response to that 'reporter'.

http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2008/getting_the_story_straight

I think the reporter was less than professional, but decide for yourself.

Posted by: jeebie at December 30, 2007 03:01 PM

Thank you JEEBIE for posting that link to the WHOLE story. You beat me to it.

There is a difference between someone whose only burning desire is to be POTUS to the point they will say or do anything to get it, including changing their positions according to where they are or to whom they're speaking, vs someone who humbly submits themselves, gives you their qualifications, positions and plans in detail and allows you to decide for yourself like an adult should do. I don't want someone who behaves like a used car salesman telling me what they think I want to hear in order to talk me into buying a lemon I don't really need.

Posted by: fdt4prez at December 30, 2007 03:30 PM

Jeebie, reporters are always less than professional, that fact is not even open for debate.

Posted by: AntonK at December 30, 2007 03:32 PM

Thompson, like Hillary, seems to have a sense of entitlement for his party's nomination. His campaign really took of didn't it after he announced on Leno? The sad thing is that of all the candidates he seems to make the most sense (folloeed by Rudy) but I think he feels he can sleep walk to the Presidency.

Posted by: Ripper at December 30, 2007 04:11 PM

JEEBIE, thanks for the link. Reading the quotes in context makes a big difference.

"I’m only consumed by very, very few things. Politics is not one of them. The welfare of our country and our kids and grandkids is one of them."

So, Thompson is a guy consumed by what's best for this country and NOT politics. Heaven forbid... .

Posted by: Kimj7157 at December 30, 2007 05:25 PM

I just can't imagine Ronald Reagan saying the following.
Mr. Gorbachev , do you think it would be a good idea to tear this wall down? I'm not particularly interested in it coming down, but if you would like to think about it, I'm listening.
We must have want, passion and conviction in our next president and I just don't see that in Fred Thompson. His get up and go got up and went.

Posted by: Young American at December 30, 2007 06:43 PM

I've been a Thompson supporter for some time. But I agree, he seems to be sawing the legs off his own chair sometimes.

And Happy New Year o/

Posted by: Mad William Flint at December 30, 2007 07:44 PM

Tammy,

Some of the newbie torch bearers probably came over from Hot Air. They've posted a video of Fred with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Fred tells Chris he's a victim of journalistic malpractice for making a big deal about these remarks. Hot Air also linked to your post about Fred.

Posted by: pat_s at December 30, 2007 07:46 PM

The reporter's parsing of the comments by Thompson seem deliberate in trying to continue the meme of him being lazy. The further information provided in the clip was good.

There are three candidates that I would like to see in the top three, Rudy, Mitt and Fred. There are a few that are less than honest that you might as well vote for Hillary or Obama, they are Huckabee and McCain. The press is going to great lengths to show that these two are the "true Republican choice" when in fact they have done little to help the conservative cause. The Paulie-nauts are not included in the list.

Posted by: Skeptic at December 30, 2007 08:07 PM

Just for entertainment and mockery, Tammy, could you post some of the threats people sent you?

Maybe they also included their email addresses... I'll also know whom to take seriously from now on if some of these came from HotAir commenters.

Posted by: ashleymatt at December 30, 2007 08:25 PM

Hi Ashley,

I contemplated that but it would, in all likelihood, start a flame war which just compounds the absurdity. And yes, the swamping of threats and insults began when Allahpundit posted his comment, which, meaning to mock, and IMHO, giving a bit of defacto permission to attack, apparently set some of the Fredheads off.

Personally, the disappointment of Fred Thompson has affected all of us, and it must be frustrating to be an ardent supporter and have to deal with what none of us could have guessed would be his luckluster approach. As I noted in my post, Thompson's ambivalence has been obvious from the beginning. And if the press is out to get him (they're out to get all the GOP candidates, btw), all they need to do is point. Same with Huckabee--pointing out the obvious these days, or simply bringing up a candidate's record, is what now amounts to a 'smear.'

Posted by: Tammy at December 30, 2007 09:44 PM

Eh, I dunno. When I contrast Fred's stance, as I understand it, with what I perceive of those who are most clearly ambitious—Hillary Clinton is the example that comes most readily to mind—Fred ends up looking pretty good. I guess I'm among those who have grown a bit tired of politicians who forever and amen seem primarily to be interested in acquiring the power associated with the office, and would be happy to elect someone who has articulated relatively concrete ideas about what to do once in office, but if he didn't get there would somehow still have a life.

Unfortunately, I don't expect Fred to get the nomination, in part, I have to say, because I think that homo sapiens sapiens (there's a laugh if ever there was one) does, in fact, respond to visible and audible excitement and drive—if we didn't, con men and women would go out of business.

Posted by: Paul Snively at January 1, 2008 09:59 AM

I am sorely disappointed in all of you Fred supporters, but really disappointed in Tammy. I would advise checking out out this site and then you'll realize what you have heard is only "part of the story". http://www.bobkrumm.com/blog/?p=1732 Moreover, I would check out Instapundit today for his comments on Fred in that Fred is giving everything people want, but is being ignored by the media and surprisingly, a lot of bloggers. Oh, guess I should say, because here in Hawaii I'm 5 hours behind the east coast folks, the Instapundit comment is I believe in his Jan 1st blog, but try to find it nonetheless.

Posted by: HawaiiBob at January 2, 2008 01:32 AM

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