“He’s a strong and serious person. He has the gravitas to be president; the presence we need in a commander-in-chief”
“Republicans are looking for a true conservative. There are questions that hover over each of the other candidates”
He’s “a Southern-fried Reagan.”
“You had a lot of people who were searching and looking for a candidate and feeling like they were going to have to settle for someone. You don’t have to settle with [him].”
Looks like there’s a groundswell of support for this Republican late-entry into the presidential campaign! No doubt he’ll throw his hat in the ring and blow the lid off the place! (Sorry about the mixed metaphors.)
But these quotes refer not to this year’s late entry, Rick Perry, but to the last cycle’s late entry: Fred Thompson. And look how far he got. Point being, it’s always easy to theorize about how great someone is before they actually show up and start campaigning. Not that Perry is the same as Thompson, but we’ll see.
(In order, quotes from: Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/28/07; Austin American-Statesman 7/25/07; Dallas Morning News 7/25/07; St Petersburg Times, 7/14/07)
You know, it’s interesting you point this out because I was doing some research on 2008 for something else, and it turns out that 4 years ago, Thompson was running 2nd in the polls…. yes, to Giuliani. It turns out he’s an awful campaigner. I actually used the Thompson example (and Phil “my momma” Gramm) as an analogy to Pawlenty. you know, the guy who looks good on paper…
Perry has extensive campaign experience and I imagine a greater base of support. I think he’ll be much more successful and definitely a top contender, but anything can happen…