Controversy of the week

Thompson: Does he have enough passion to be president?

As first impressions go, said John Podhoretz in the New York Post, Fred Thompson’s was a flop. After months of dithering, the former Tennessee senator and Law & Order star finally entered the 2008 presidential race in September and this week, took part in his first Republican presidential debate. For weeks, critics have been calling Thompson ill-prepared and uninspired, and sure enough, the first time he opened his mouth, in response to a question about the economy, he froze and “blinked in confusion,” groping for the simple word “recession.” He often looked irrelevant as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney dominated the debate, attacking each other’s conservative credentials, while Thompson stood mutely, shifting from foot to foot. With “his lack of energy” and world-weary mien, Thompson came across as a “kindly elderly gentleman who has just seen too much in his life to get all fired up.” Granted, the newest candidate “committed no outright gaffes,” said Noam Scheiber in The New Republic Online. But he’s not fulfilling his “hype” as the GOP’s savior, the heir to the triumphant conservatism of Ronald Reagan.

Were we watching the same debate? said Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News. Thompson was hardly spectacular, but he did just fine. “He spoke clearly and concisely on the economy, taxes, and the war.” On free trade, he was convincingly bullish; on Islamic terrorism, he was believably forceful. He even flashed some of his trademark deadpan wit, said Byron York in National Review Online. After the wooden Romney made an obviously scripted dig at Thompson’s late entry into the race, Thompson looked amused for a moment, then dryly remarked, “I thought I was going to be the best actor on the stage.” When the debate was over, “there was no doubt that Thompson was in the first tier of the GOP race.”

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So far, that’s not the impression he’s given out on the stump, said Adam Nagourney in The New York Times. When he campaigned in the critical caucus state of Iowa last week, Thompson came across as “a laconic presence who spoke in soft monotone” and did little to distinguish himself from his Republican rivals. After a speech laden with “broad generalities” about small government and fiscal responsibility, he was greeted with utter silence. “Can I have a round of applause?” he asked. Even supporters seemed stunned by his lack of energy and passion. “I hope his strategy works for him,” said one, “but I’m not sure it will.”

Thompson may have a good reason for relying on bland generalities, said Michael Shear in The Washington Post. In just a month of campaigning, he’s only deepened the perception that he’s winging it and ill-prepared to be president. He has referred to Russia as the “Soviet Union,” and said he didn’t know enough about the Terri Schiavo feeding-tube controversy to comment on it. “Later in Florida, he said he might drill for oil in the Everglades—not a popular position in a critical primary state.” All in all, said Roger Simon in Politico.com, Thompson has come across as a drawling good ol’ boy “who does not really want to run for president, but is being pushed into it by his wife.”

It’s been a slow start, for sure, said Peter Canellos in The Boston Globe. But “luckily for Thompson, it is still two months before most voters start making up their minds.” For Thompson to emerge from a field of flawed candidates, he’ll need to convince Republicans that behind his laconic, low-key demeanor, there is a prudent, thoughtful man of strong conservative convictions—not an amiable also-ran.