In the latest Marist College poll of Republican voters in New Hampshire, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are tied for fourth at 7 percent apiece. Fred Thompson languishes in sixth place with 5 percent. A Boston Globe survey has him at 3 percent.
It’s highly unlikely that any of these men will become president or even win the GOP nomination. But Paul, the libertarian Congressman from Texas, and Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, are doing this right. They’re campaigning hard and smart, treating voters with respect, advancing ideas that are fresh and fearless.
Thompson, the former senator and current actor, is doing exactly the opposite. He’s strolling for the nomination, not running, and treating voters with contempt. He has nothing much to say and says it poorly. Every reviewer agrees: This campaign movie is a bust, headed straight for the video store.
One senior Republican strategist told us recently that Thompson was running largely to satisfy the ambitions of his young wife, Jeri, his closest adviser. The explanation makes sense because nothing else does. Yes, many Republicans are unhappy with the rest of the field, and yes, they are terrified of Hillary Clinton in the White House. But why should Thompson be taken seriously as an alternative?
He spent eight undistinguished years in the Senate and then quit, bored with the job. Playing a politician in the movies and on TV was far more appealing than actually being one. He postponed his announcement for months, a sure sign of his ambivalence. And then he skipped a candidate debate to appear on “The Tonight Show,” reinforcing the view that he prefers a soundstage in Hollywood to a town hall in Ottumwa.
Thompson’s stump speech is chock full of platitudes about his conservative credentials and the mess in Washington. The reception has been so tepid that at one humiliating appearance in Iowa – widely circulated on YouTube – he pleaded with the audience, “First of all, could I have a round of applause?”
After listening to Thompson, a prominent New Hampshire Republican told a traveling British writer, Toby Harnden, why the candidate was not connecting: “The American people like folks that have a positive, hopeful message. This felt very pessimistic. He doesn’t have the kind of fire and brimstone that excites people or gives them a reason to vote for him.”
That provides a sharp contrast to Huckabee, who is giving voters plenty of reasons to vote for him. His personal story is inspiring (”I’m one generation away from dirt floors and outdoor toilets”), and his humor is unfailing. After a ringing cell phone interrupted a speech, he cracked, “That was probably Dick Cheney wanting to take me hunting. No way.”
