Bradley in DC
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6280.html
Thompson dull in long-awaited debut
By: Roger Simon
Oct 9, 2007 08:16 PM EST
Nobody went after Thompson, but nobody needed to. The closest thing to a move on him was cloaked in humor.
DEARBORN, Mich. — I thought that in his first debate Fred Thompson would come across as either bright or dumb.
I forgot about dull.
He wasn’t terrible. He wasn’t great. He was just “eh.”
But you have to give him some credit. He didn’t make any goofs. He left that for Mitt Romney.
Romney, standing next to Thompson, smirked at Thompson all night. Maybe Romney thought he could rattle Thompson.
But in the end, while all that Thompson proved is that he could stand upright for two hours, it was Romney who fell on his face.
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked Romney whether, as president, he would need to go to Congress to “get authorization to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
Romney said “you sit down with your attorneys,” and “we’re going to let the lawyers sort out” whether such authorization was needed.
Yeah, because you can never go wrong letting lawyers make your decisions for you, right?
All the other candidates disagreed with Romney to one degree or another. And when it got to Thompson, who by this time had several minutes to consider his answer, he replied: “I don’t think anybody running for president should diminish the power of office before he gets there.”
It was a careful reply from somebody who spent the entire evening being careful about being careful.
The other Republican candidates for president onstage had debated at least five times before. But this was Thompson’s first debate, and he was clearly nervous. It was a toss-up as to whether he said “um” more or cleared his throat more.
Before the debate, he said he was going to spend time working on his sound bites, but he really didn’t show up with that many.
He did say that the success of the American economy was “the greatest story never told.”
But sometimes his canned lines just led to head scratching, like when he said: “It’s strange to me to think that the average 20-year-old serving us in Iraq knows more about what it takes for our national security than the average 20-year veteran on Capitol Hill.”
Really? How so? Especially since Congress continues to fund that war.
But mostly, what Thompson said was just boilerplate, like: “The manufacturing industry is, in large part, an international industry nowadays, which means prices are set internationally.”
Thank you, senator.
Nobody went after Thompson, but nobody needed to. The closest thing to a move on him was cloaked in humor. When the debate was nearly over. Romney said the debates were like “Law & Order” in that there is a “huge cast, the series seems to go on forever, and Fred Thompson shows up at the end.”
Romney got his laugh. But Thompson did get in a riposte when he said, “To think I thought I would be the best actor on the stage.” The laughter continued.
The only really heated exchange was between Rudy Giuliani, who leads in the national polls, and Romney, who leads in key state polls. They argued over who cut taxes more while in office, who cut spending more while in office and whether it makes a difference whether the presidential line-item veto is constitutional or not.
John McCain, released from the heavy burden of being a front-runner, was relaxed and forceful, and, even if his makeup had been applied with a trowel, he looked great.
“The problem is, my friend, the American people no longer have trust and confidence in us that we will fix anything,” McCain said. Then he promised he would fix everything.
Also, after months on the road and with several debates under his belt, McCain had his lines down. “Would I support the nominee of the party?” he said. “Of course, I would support me.”
The last word in the debate went to Thompson, who was asked if he had waited too long to start debating.
Thompson said he had not but added: “I’ve got to admit, it was getting a little boring without me.”
Or even with him.
Thompson dull in long-awaited debut
By: Roger Simon
Oct 9, 2007 08:16 PM EST
Nobody went after Thompson, but nobody needed to. The closest thing to a move on him was cloaked in humor.
DEARBORN, Mich. — I thought that in his first debate Fred Thompson would come across as either bright or dumb.
I forgot about dull.
He wasn’t terrible. He wasn’t great. He was just “eh.”
But you have to give him some credit. He didn’t make any goofs. He left that for Mitt Romney.
Romney, standing next to Thompson, smirked at Thompson all night. Maybe Romney thought he could rattle Thompson.
But in the end, while all that Thompson proved is that he could stand upright for two hours, it was Romney who fell on his face.
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked Romney whether, as president, he would need to go to Congress to “get authorization to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
Romney said “you sit down with your attorneys,” and “we’re going to let the lawyers sort out” whether such authorization was needed.
Yeah, because you can never go wrong letting lawyers make your decisions for you, right?
All the other candidates disagreed with Romney to one degree or another. And when it got to Thompson, who by this time had several minutes to consider his answer, he replied: “I don’t think anybody running for president should diminish the power of office before he gets there.”
It was a careful reply from somebody who spent the entire evening being careful about being careful.
The other Republican candidates for president onstage had debated at least five times before. But this was Thompson’s first debate, and he was clearly nervous. It was a toss-up as to whether he said “um” more or cleared his throat more.
Before the debate, he said he was going to spend time working on his sound bites, but he really didn’t show up with that many.
He did say that the success of the American economy was “the greatest story never told.”
But sometimes his canned lines just led to head scratching, like when he said: “It’s strange to me to think that the average 20-year-old serving us in Iraq knows more about what it takes for our national security than the average 20-year veteran on Capitol Hill.”
Really? How so? Especially since Congress continues to fund that war.
But mostly, what Thompson said was just boilerplate, like: “The manufacturing industry is, in large part, an international industry nowadays, which means prices are set internationally.”
Thank you, senator.
Nobody went after Thompson, but nobody needed to. The closest thing to a move on him was cloaked in humor. When the debate was nearly over. Romney said the debates were like “Law & Order” in that there is a “huge cast, the series seems to go on forever, and Fred Thompson shows up at the end.”
Romney got his laugh. But Thompson did get in a riposte when he said, “To think I thought I would be the best actor on the stage.” The laughter continued.
The only really heated exchange was between Rudy Giuliani, who leads in the national polls, and Romney, who leads in key state polls. They argued over who cut taxes more while in office, who cut spending more while in office and whether it makes a difference whether the presidential line-item veto is constitutional or not.
John McCain, released from the heavy burden of being a front-runner, was relaxed and forceful, and, even if his makeup had been applied with a trowel, he looked great.
“The problem is, my friend, the American people no longer have trust and confidence in us that we will fix anything,” McCain said. Then he promised he would fix everything.
Also, after months on the road and with several debates under his belt, McCain had his lines down. “Would I support the nominee of the party?” he said. “Of course, I would support me.”
The last word in the debate went to Thompson, who was asked if he had waited too long to start debating.
Thompson said he had not but added: “I’ve got to admit, it was getting a little boring without me.”
Or even with him.
