Look Out Mitt, Here Comes Fred

Published May 30 2007, 12:42 PM by David S. Bernstein

Politico is reporting that Fred Thompson will form an exploratory committee on June 4th, and announce his candidacy for President over the July 4th holiday.

(June 4 is not random -- it ensures that he'll get lots and lots of face time around the Republicans' June 5 debate. July 4, in addition to being all patriotic and stuff, is conveniently just after the close of the second-quarter campaign-finance period.)

Being a candidate is a lot tougher than being a potential candidate, so Thompson has a lot to prove yet before he can be taken too seriously. But it surely ain't good news for the Mittster.

On the other hand, since it was becoming obvious that Thompson was going to jump in, it might be better for Romney to have him in now, so he can start taking his lumps as a real candidate, rather than having his potential candidacy hovering around the campaign.

Of course, the real question is, what will NBC do? California TV stations ceased showing Arnold movies during his first gubernatorial campaign for fear that rival candidates would demand free equal time under the vaguaries of the FEC rules. Will NBC shelve episodes of Law & Order with FT in them for the duration?

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3 Comments

Just6Dollars said:

With both Mitt, Fred, and McCain in the racd maybe there's some potential for campaign finance to enter the debate again.

June 1, 2007 5:09 AM
FANNING said:

'till now the most valuable person for the Mitt Romney Campaign has been Senator James Webb; by knocking out George Allen with the most courageous campaign in modern history, Webb also took out Romney's toughest competition and the natural choice for the GOP's nativist wing. In the GOP nativist's occupy a pretty large wing, almost a living room in fact; and without a natural choice some have painstakingly been forced to support a mormon who likes to play the nativist card (though not very well).

June 2, 2007 1:27 AM
jeffery mcnary said:

there’s something to say for a late entry to an extended and bizarre political season. campaign fatigue may well set in with the electorate by the second round of primaries. citizen romney as well as ‘don’ guliani are bound to self destruction with or without the thompson factor. the candidacy of fred dalton thompson brings to mind the letter of cicero to his brother quintus on electioneering in which he adds, “for your status as a “new man” you will compensate by your fame as a speaker”. (nominus novitatem dicendi gloria maxime sublevabis, o.k.?). and besides that it gets him away from that whiney assistant district attorney frank mccoy.

June 4, 2007 7:16 PM