The Dead Were on Display

Recorded for posterity, not that posterity will care. Nevertheless, this is great. Isn't spinning a dead guy illegal in most states?

The latest news from Iowa?  According to Zogby’s latest—and I quote:  “Sen. Fred Thompson…has seen a late-breaking surge.”   (Rich notes the same poll below.)

What’s going on here? My guess is that there are whole lot of Iowa Republicans who have about the same attitude that David Limbaugh displayed in his column yesterday:

Fred is the only [candidate] I don't have major reservations about….I find his lack of "fire in the belly" refreshing. He strikes me as one of the few presidential candidates since Ronald Reagan whose primary motivation is not personal aggrandizement but rather serving and leading the nation in very troubled and dangerous times. I see him as almost being drafted into this project, and his refusal to drool publicly over the prospect of becoming the most powerful man in the world is positively delightful.

That said, he needs to make a more convincing case to the voters, which will require a greater display of enthusiasm that he views these as both perilous and promising times and that he is the best man, overall, to navigate the ship of state through these times.

So, Fred, please, as distasteful as it may be to you, it's time to step up and prove you want it.

Iowa Republicans, in other words, have wanted Thompson to do them the courtesy of actually campaigning—and now they’re beginning to realize that he has. First Thompson conducted a two-week bus tour of Iowa at which he campaigned in more than 50 towns and cities. Then he taped a 17-minute video in which he makes his case more calmly, deliberately, and and with incomparably greater respect for the issues than has any of his opponents. And? For a lot of Iowa Republicans, that’s all they needed.

The Thompson campaign may be shaping up as something like the precise reverse of the Clinton campaign. Presenting herself as the candidate of inevitability, Hillary dare not slip in the polls for fear of suffering a rapid and irretrievable collapse. Fred is by contrast the candidate who just can’t get elected—solid, likeable, and best on the issues—but, well, a man for whom it just isn’t going to happen. But as modest as it so far remains, his sudden rise in the polls—this “late-breaking surge,” to quote Zogby again—could persuade whole slews of Republicans that Fred could indeed win after all, leading to a definitive breakout.

From an unexpectedly strong third place in Iowa…to first place in South Carolina?

(If you have yet to see this message to the people of Iowa, by the way, take a look.  YouTube is reporting more than 135,000 hits.)

Click the Zogby link for the full hilarity -- he's "surging" to 12%, third place, 14  below second.

UPDATE. The Laments of the Fred-Backers are poignant to the ear. It's like listening to Beach Boys songs hummed by a grackle.

Comments

[MikeJ]

Plan 9 From Outer Space is far more coherent than anything I've heard from any of the republican candidates.

[¡El Gato Negro!]

Thees ees a strange endorsement:

I see him as almost being drafted into this project, and his refusal to drool publicly [...] is positively delightful.

The GOP needs more David Limbaughs

pronto.

[fourlegsgood]

Oh my.

My winger brother is off weeping somewhere over Fred's demise.

Not that he could articulate to me why exactly he wants Fred to become preznit.

[Ripley]

Not that he could articulate to me why exactly he wants Fred to become preznit.

Aqua Velva?

[tim quick]

I have the distinct and distasteful feeling that Thompson's support comes from people sitting at home watching him in "Die Hard 2" over and over again and feeling safer.

[mrbubbs]

It looks like the surge from 8% to 12% is almost entirely within the margin of error (+/- 3.3%).

[actor212]

I find his lack of "fire in the belly" refreshing.

TRANSLATION: I ran out of Beano.

[Halloween Jack]

I think that the Fred-Frackers are Reagan nostalgists that want another minor-league actor who will hit his marks, say his lines, and let the usual suspects run things. Or they fantasize about Jeri, or something. I dunno.

[litbrit]

Please note that the above comment made at 10:37 am was not posted by me, litbrit. I am unfortunately being harassed by a right-wing sockpuppet troll; he goes to different blogs and posts strange, offensive, and even obscene comments using my name and blog URL. Please email me if you would like confirmation of this or to advise me of any other strange "litbrit" comments you've noticed. Thank you ever so much.

Cheers,
Deborah aka litbrit

[Thers]

litbrit, I thought that was a strange comment, and not at all like you. Sorry for the pestering, and I'll let you know if I see anything like this popping up.

[dave™©]

Wow, this bit from Perfesser Bass is stunning in its multiple stupidity:

Thompson is running the kind of campaign -- substantive, policy-laden, not based on gimmicks or sound-bites -- that pundits and journalists say they want, but he's getting no credit for it from the people who claim that's what they want. It's like in Tootsie when Dustin Hoffman tries doing the things he's heard women say they want from men, only to discover that they don't really want those things at all . . .

Honest to God - where to start???

[Righteous Bubba]

I didn't notice "not voting for them" as a way to dispatch zombies in any of the canonical movies. Iowans should board up their windows.

[Thers]

Righteous B --

Yeah, but the Tor Johnson/Fred Thompson resemblance is nevertheless uncanny.

[jri]

"

I have the distinct and distasteful feeling that Thompson's support comes from people sitting at home watching him in "Die Hard 2" over and over again and feeling safer.

"

I think of him more as the loser PI in "Cape Fear".

=

[putnam]

He would have been interesting, although type-cast, as the ineffectual good ol'boy sheriff passing the time not exactly pursuing the serial killer who strangled a deputy in the sheriff's office itself, in "No Country for Old Men."

[actor212]

Someone is harassing our litbrit?

Lemme at him...I'll tear him a new one to go with the old one I'm about to spackle over...

[SteveB]

Sorry to diverge from the Fred-bashing, but I found this today:

Reengaging With the World - A Return to Moral Leadership
John Edwards

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070901faessay86502-p40/john-edwards/reengaging-with-the-world.html

I will double the budget for recruitment and raise the standards for the recruitment pool so that we can reduce our reliance on felony waivers and other exceptions.

If you've been in a low-income school recently and seen how aggressive the recruiters have gotten, you might wonder why we need to double the level of high-pressure tactics being applied to young people to get them to sign up.

Besides, the reason recruiters are having difficulty is because of the Iraq war. If you want to fix the military's recruiting problems, just end the damn war.

Anybody who's considering voting for Edwards should contact his campaign about this. It may be that he can still be persuaded to change his mind.

[Lolly]

I can't figure out why they think Freddie has been so "substantive" on the "issues." What, exactly, are his positions on anything? What has he ever done to promote his opinions?

I suspect the real reason they adore him so much is that he provides the blank canvas (a very masculine, big-daddy, Aqua Velva blank canvas) on which they can project all their own desires, then give him credit for thinking exactly like them.

[The Real Literary Britonian]

litbrit, how do we know it's not just your split personality exhibiting itself? How do YOU know?

I'm really suspicious of your so-called explanation. What supposed "troll" would do such a thing?