Possible Brilliant Strategy

Fred Thompson has a great deal of support when it comes to the 2008 POTUS.  It’s also no secret that he wasn’t big on the game that has to be played in modern day politics.  After finishing third in South Carolina there was silence.  Then came the three sentence press release, followed by nothing but silence.  Has Fred walked away or is it part of a strategy that goes against today’s conventional wisdom?  One thing is for sure with Fred’s campaign “suspended” the reason for his entering in the first place has become more obvious.  This from John Perry at Newsmax -

Fred Thompson is having greater influence on the Republican presidential race now that he’s out of it than he had when he was in it.In just the few days after he withdrew his candidacy, the tall Tennessean stands out more clearly than ever above the ranks of GOP contenders. By its very silence, the absence of Thompson’s steady baritone is heard above the cacophony he left behind.Nothing else in this campaign is making so obvious the lack of an authentic, consistent, common-sense conservative among the surviving candidates.It calls to mind the tale of the couple tending a lighthouse. In addition to a beacon pivoting, their lighthouse had a klaxon that blared on regular intervals.They grew accustomed to the noise, the way folks living alongside a railroad track eventually ignore the roar of passing trains. One night, the mighty foghorn failed to sound off at the appointed time.

In that instant, the lighthouse keeper and his wife awoke with a start, sat upright in bed, looked at one another and asked: “What wasn’t that?”

It is the same effect Thompson will have, by increased measure, in this floundering Republican pre-nomination campaign. As the GOP rivals “surge” then fade in opinion polls, it will become embarrassingly obvious that what conservative voters still want is not altogether there.

Not a blessed one of them – Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney – is a 360-degree conservative. Each has at least one essential piece of his pie missing.

By not being among them any longer, Thompson has brought the spotlight to bear on those missing pieces.

The effect on the candidates is already having a noticeable, salutary effect. With Thompson off the platform, those remaining candidates have started fudging their credentials to shade over into the space of one or more conservative issues once occupied by the man who had no serious empty spaces.

It begs the question - if the momentum was starting (among Republicans in South Carolina the percentages were almost dead heat among the top three) why step aside? 

Could it have been part of the plan from the beginning?  Fellow FredHead Krell thinks it may have been.  Here’s what he thinks may have been the Thompson strategy -

After allowing the other candidates to present their credentials and expose their own flaws, Thompson would enter the race.

First, to introduce himself to the American public at large and to establish himself as a true, consistent conservative in the
Federalist tradition.

Second,  Thompson stated his principles, to the American people, on which he would build his administration. And these principles would be the pillars of his executive decisions.

Third, Thompson stated what he would seek to accomplish during his administration by publishing his white papers.

Fourth, Thompson served notice that he was “not going to play by the phoney rules”.
This would connote a non-traditional style campaign - by today’s standards.

Fifth, withdraw from the race so voters would be able to see the difference between a
true Conservative in the race as opposed to seeing the void without a true Conservative
in the race.

Perhaps the best revelation of this possible strategy, other than the “Stand Strong” comment in his Jan 19 speech to supporters is revealed by senior advisor Rich Galen -

Here’s a tale out of school which describes the kind of man Thompson is: One day in the week leading up to the South Carolina primary the campaign office in McLean, Virginia asked if he would record a video thanking supporters for helping to have raised over a million dollars from the day after the Iowa caucuses to that point.This video was obviously going to be a veiled pitch to send in more money - a point not lost on Thompson even though the script I wrote never mentioned it.He told me he wasn’t going to record it. Knowing we were facing an uphill climb to stay in the race, and knowing the video would tempt viewers to donate to help the campaign to go onto Florida and February 5th, he said, “I am not going to ask for money under false pretenses.”

So the possible 5 step strategy has been completed.  What happens next?  That depends on the grassroots army that backed Fred Thompson.  Some have left, some whine and some are planning to continue the fight.  What will Fred do?  No one knows right now.  This much is known - Fred said last year when the “draft movement” began that if the people asked he would serve.  Even though the active campaign has ended if the voters show they aren’t happy with the remaining candidates and either vote for Fred (which I will be doing) or vote in a way that results in a brokered convention it is known Fred is the clear 2nd choice of many.  And if at a brokered convention he may well agree to serve if asked.  How will we know if we don’t stick to our principles and take a risk in the process?

Let the revolution begin and show that the Presidency can be won without playing the horse & pony show game.