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August 27, 2007
Nobody Likes a Flirt
Once upon a time, I thought Fred Thompson would make a good presidential candidate.
Now? Not so much. Dean Barnett sums up my reservations in this post:
Here’s my big concern about Fred: I’m very worried about entrusting the most complex CEO job in the world to someone or anyone who’s never run anything bigger than a six person law firm. Thompson has no executive experience, and it shows in the way he’s run his campaign. The indecision, the lack of direction, the organizational incoherence – these are hallmarks of a rookie CEO. Anyone who’s ever run anything knows what I’m talking about. You get better at it as you go along, and there’s a pretty steep learning curve.Yes, I know the first primaries are still months away, and that this campaign season has begun sooner than any in history (not counting the Clintonian perpetual campaign). Still, running a campaign has got to be easier than running the federal government and so far, Thompson has done far too many campaign reorganizations for my taste. As boring as it sounds, I have a degree in public administration, so perhaps I'm biased toward those who show better organizational management skills than we've seen from Thompson's campaign.Unfortunately for Fred, POTUS isn’t an entry level CEO position. Nor for that matter is running a campaign for the presidency. If you look at the campaigns that have functioned relatively smoothly to date, all of the principals have executive experience. Mitt Romney was a governor and ran numerous large companies. Rudy Giuliani ran the world’s most complex city. Mike Huckabee ran Arkansas. Hillary Clinton has been running the Clinton family’s vast criminal enterprise for decades. (I kid, I kid.)
Plus, I have to admit to being...extremely underwhelmed by the speeches and extemporaneous statements I've seen from Thompson. His radio stuff is great, his writing is good but he really needs to get some game if he wants to go against the Hillary!
At this point in the campaign, I'm leaning once again toward my first crush this campaign season. Rudy may be liberal on some issues, but so am I. I've seen a lot of conservatives say they'd vote third-party if he wins the primary. To that I say this:
Better the liberal than the socialist.
As I've said before, conservatives will get a lot further with a President Giuliani than a President Clinton. Period. Rudy will be receptive. Clinton? She'll be actively hostile.
Posted by slublog at August 27, 2007 07:48 PM
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Comments
What would you think of Thompson as the VP half of the GOP ticket?
Posted by: MainiacJoe at August 27, 2007 08:20 PM
I think a Giuliani/Thompson ticket would work. After all, the Vice President doesn't need any executive experience.
Posted by: Slublog at August 27, 2007 08:23 PM
If it can't be Fred out in front, I'd be OK with the Giuliani/Thompson ticket. I'd prefer it was the other way around - but having both of them in office would make me sleep better.
Posted by: Kris, in New England at August 28, 2007 06:08 PM