Writing at The Corner, Rick Brookhiser rates the Republican candidates for President and finds Fred to be the least qualified candidate.
Now that Fred Thompson is officially in the race, it is appropriate to say that he is, on the face of it, by far the weakest potential president of the top tier Republicans.
Strongest is Giuliani who, alone of all the candidates in both parties, has done something. Two things—saved New York City; and led America for two days six years ago.
[...]
Fred Thompson came to the offices of National Review some years when he was still in the Senate. I liked him fine. He has done nothing, anywhere, ever. The Hubble Telescope could not find what he has done, because he has not done it.
It would be unwise to put such a man in the White House at this moment in history.
Really? If that’s what you truly think, Mr. Brookhiser, it seems to safe to conclude then that you will be voting for Hillary over Fred should it come down to that? According to your metric, she has at least spent time in the White House, in addition to being a U.S. Senator, so perhaps it is not so “unwise” at “this moment in history” to put her in the Oval Office as it would seem you think it would be to elect Fred?
And, although I think Rudy did a fine job in the aftermath of 9/11, is it really true that he “saved New York City; and led America for two days” thereafter? That’s a bit much, isn’t it, Rick?
Finally, is it really fair to say that Fred’s accomplished nothing? Aside from being a twice-elected U.S. Senator, he’s also served as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, an assistant U.S. Attorney, and as special counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee during the 1980′s. In the midst of all this, Fred became one of the most elusive creatures on Earth, an openly Republican and successful actor. What’s most impressive, however, is though Fred’s been alleged to be a bit of ladies man, all his exes still speak well of him. I’m lucky if my wife says something nice about me in public much less an ex-girlfriend. But apparently none of this is observable to Brookhiser, even with the Hubble Telescope.
You know, the more I see obvious hit pieces like this the more it makes me want to vote for Fred.
[tags] Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Rick Brookhiser, Republican Primary, Presidential candidates, Election ’08 [/tags]
You basically had the same reaction to the Brookhiser piece that I did. I would add that Brookhiser seems to overvalue executive experience. We had Clinton and Bush, both state governors, and both mediocre presidents in my book.
I think it’s more important for a president to have a philosophical center. Certainly some level of understanding of how Washington works is essential, and Fred has that. Beyond that minimum, I’m ready to try a president that actually believes in the principles of our Constitution, and it’s pretty clear that neither of our last two presidents have that clear belief (see Clinton with HillaryCare, and Bush with McCain-Feingold and Medicare Rx, for example).
I don’t see that qualification in Guiliani, and I sure as heck don’t see it in McCain. Romney… I dunno, maybe, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s really a Rockefeller Republican under that conservative facade. Perhaps because he was elected governor in Massachusetts. And of course, Hillary fails that qualification big time, and Edwards is even worse if that’s possible. Obama fails the “understand how Washington works” principle, and looks like he’s totally out of his depth.
So, unlike Brookhiser, I have to put Fred as the best of the current crop. I could see someone preferring, say, Guiliani. But claiming that Fred’s even below McCain outs Brookhiser as a pretty fuzzy thinking conservative.
Fred Thompson, best of the crop?
Puh-lease.
He’s the LEAST worst of the front contenders in terms of ideology. And yes, Thompson was able to get multiple high-level jobs, but where are the accomplishments or even clear failures? Without a clear history of either, that suggests he may be the type of person who knows how to effectively get out of tough decisions, but that doesn’t translate into actual ability to timely effect policy.
After having someone who’s bumbled as much as GW has for the last 8 years, if Ron Paul can’t win then I’d rather have a semi-competent technocrat like Guiliani rather than another person who doesn’t give a damn about or understands the consequences of incompetence…
This nation doesn’t need another f***-up like Iraq and I’m afraid Thompson may be the right guy to create another “Iraq.”