Rumor Patrol

Rumor: Fred Thompson has suddenly cancelled his New Hampshire campaign schedule today.

Fact: He's in New Hampshire; his plane just landed.

Comments

I assume that's the sum total of Lazy Fred's schedule then. Just on schdule for nap time.

Posted by AJ | October 29, 2007 3:26 PM

In person, Fred really does seem like a pretty personable guy; none of the preeningly psychotic egotism of Giuliani or the animatronic Ken Doll posings of Romney, just a guy who is, as the saying goes lately, comfortable with himself and his beliefs.

So why is this two-time election winner running a campaign that seems intent on taking the very concept of "suck" to the next level? Beats me. How could he have so little regard for his paltry but earnest group of true-blue supporters -- two dozen max, that assembled at the State House to cheer his entrance and exit -- that he brushed by them going to and from his SUV with just a minute's worth of hand-shaking, and not so much as a pause to address the entire group and say, "I just want to thank all of you for being here and all you've done for me and all you'll continue to do for me. Thank you and God bless"? I'm sure he didn't casually blow off the goodwill of Senators and cabinet secretaries when he was a lobbyist; why would he be so careless about the goodwill of the few people who make up -- for now -- his hard-core grassroots support in New Hampshire? Not that it really helped his rock-bottom reputation with the local (or national, for that matter) press when a staffer tried to shut down his post-filing press conference after about three questions, either. But it was nice to see the press ignore said staffer and pepper Thompson with unwelcome questions.

And no, AJ, there was more to his schedule than his 2:45 filing of papers: at 5pm, he was due to be at an open house at his HQ in Manchester. THAT was the sum total of his public schedule. And by "public," I don't mean "publicized"; I mean "on the press itinerary".

So you go to a critical state that you haven't been to in almost two months. Which gives you a chance to get out and meet actual people who might (A) vote for you, and (B) tell other people that you seemed like a decent enough guy. How do you go about doing this sort of retail campaigning? Have a nice big Town Hall event? Maybe a house party at the really large house of a well-connected supporter? No, of course not. You hold an UNPUBLICIZED EVENT inside your CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS.

Way to go, Freddie.

Jeri was a pleasant sight, though, even if dressed somewhat funereally. Knee-length black dress, black stockings, black mascara in slight excess about her dewy eyes, lips like Andre the Giant doing Señor Wences; generally rocking the Angelina-Jolie-in-mourning look.

Posted by NH Dem | October 30, 2007 7:37 PM