The problem is that the longer he waits, the less tested he is when the time comes to get the nomination. That’s bad. That’s bad for him and that’s bad for us. This is about more than money and teams and the like – we need to know if he’s going to be any good, and he’s being coy about that; a few interviews aren’t enough. Everyone, I think, is engaging in wishful thinking that when put toe-to-toe with the opposition, he’ll wipe the floor with them just because he wipes the floor with them when they’re not there. Personally, I can’t support him for the nomination anymore. The same with Newt – I think he’d be the best president since Reagan hands -down, and while he might or might not overcome the unfair image the media made of him in the press, this “wait and see” business is likewise grating. There may be a method to the madness, but at least in Newt’s case we’ve seen him square off countless times. Not so Fred. Where are his values really? How is he without a script? We’ll have maybe seven months to find out, and since it won’t be a daily performance for us to judge, that isn’t enough time.

As much as I really really dislike his squishy abortion platform, Rudy is the only real contender with the fire in the belly, and he has 100 times the proven leadership of Thompson to make it more than just a solid appearance. There are similarities between Reagan and Thompson, of course, but they split on the issue of leadership: Reagan was a hugely successful Governor of the largest state in the country. Thompson’s record is virtually non-existant. Remember, Hillary has done nothing either, but with a complicit press, she can look more experienced than Fred because she was at least in the White House, not doing things Bill and the press will say she did – and that’s an absolute disaster for Thompson about which no one seems to want to pay attention, and assuming she’s the de facto nominee, that kind of diaster puts Hillary in the White House. For real. Think about it. Add that to this “look-at-me-I’m-waiting” and I just don’t see anything like a President in Thompson because of it. And if I’m not alone in feeling that way by big enough numbers, then we’ll have the Hillary-Monster raising our kids in a village.

Run Rudy run – the proven prosecutor, break-the mafia’s back, turn a slum into a technological Oz, give’em hell for breaking the law wartime mayor of New York City. When it comes to political leadership, it really is hard record to beat, and with the press behind her, that’s what we need to beat Hillary.

The recently terminated staffers from John McCain’s campaign may not collect unemployment for long, writes Ed Morrissey @ Captain’s Quarters: Fred Thompson may hire them. But Michelle Malkin thinks this is not such a great idea…….

McCain’s Pain — Fred’s Gain?
Ed Morrissey

The New York Sun reports that the recently terminated staffers from John McCain’s campaign may not collect unemployment for long. Fred Thompson, supposedly disadvantaged in organizational strength by h…

His marketing angle of building suspense is akin to the recent iPhone mystery/hype/frenzy/speculation.

I propose a new name for Mr. Thompson: iFred.

Is that to suggest that Fred! needs to do things their way and not his? What good is any candidate or prospective candidate if they can’t use their own discretion about when they make a “formal” announcement?

And, when it gets right down to it, I suspect that when it ultimately gets down to Billary versus the Republican candidate, you (like I) will not vote for Billary–true?

If you cannot follow the brilliant logic of Fred’s campaign and don’t understand what it is that is happening right in front of your eyes, than quite honestly you are not anyone who Fred should even remotely consider taking advice from.

The people who are really being bothered by Fred’s not announcing are those who have instant gratification issues. Sorry folks, Fred is running for POTUS not making microwave popcorn.

Fred is in the process of completely changing the electoral process. If you don’t understand what I am talking about you need to go back and read the congressional speech he gave where he explained why he supported the McCain-Feingold amendment.

The failure of the McCain-Feingold amendment to do what it promised and what Fred believed it would clearly disappointed Fred a great deal. What he is doing here is I believe one of those things that Fred said “You need to be President of the United States to do”.

This thing is campaign finance reform. I believe that the lesson Fred took away from McCain-Feingold was that as long as big money is involved you are never going to those on the receiving end of that money to agree to campaign finance reform that actually reforms campaign financing.

By not announcing and running his campaign as a net-centric campaign Fred is making the big money involved in campaigning irrelevant, thus forcing a unique from of campaign finance reform. He is literally making it possible to campaign without big money thus changing the rules.

By these new rules if you want to compete, and everyone who wants to get elected to any office has to compete, you have to do things differently.

Big money and liberal elitist media have corrupted our electoral process by manipulating the information the electorate has access to.

The internet has already changed that, the problem is that most people do not understand this, and the majority of those who do, simply do not understand just how profoundly it has.

The longer Fred remains unannounced the more profoundly he destroys the impact of big money and the liberal elitist media’s impact on the electoral process.

The most profound impact of Fred’s campaign is being felt right here right now. Fred is perhaps the first candidate in American history to have a truly two way dialog with the American people.

That dialog is taking place in the blogsphere, Fred is talking to “We the People” and we are talking back to him the “Candidate” and all indications are that he IS listening to what we are saying.

OK so he may not be responding to those calling for him to announce right now, but that is because he understands his own strategy. A strategy I might point out that has allowed him to not spend a single dime campaigning yet has placed him in the GOP frontrunner status tied with the Democratic frontrunner.

Lyndon Johnston once said of one of his political opponents, “I don’t give a damn if he beats his wife, I just want to hear the SOB deny it in public”. Fred wryly has chosen to remain silent when the Clinton machine has attempted to employee that Johnston tactic against him.

Just as he has very wisely chosen not to announce when others think he should have. Sun Tzu said “If you have to fight a battle, dont allow your opponent to choose the time or place of the battle”.
At this juncture Fred obviously is following that very wise strategy, Fred is the one choosing the time and place of the battle.

Those calling for him to announce now are falling into the trap of allowing Hillary to choose the time and place of the battle. Personally I prefer to not have Hillary choose the time and place, I would rather Fred do the choosing.