Thompson already benefiting from soft bigotry of low expectations

[babylonsister]

Thompson already benefiting from soft bigotry of low expectations
Posted October 9th, 2007 at 1:31 pm



In less than three hours, Fred Thompson will take the stage in Dearborn, Mich., for his first unscripted debate in about a decade, and his first as a presidential candidate. Given that everyone has already heard the rest of the GOP field blather endlessly, all eyes will be on the former actor, lobbyist, and senator, whose daily gaffes and lazy style, have already deflated supporters’ hopes.

Fortunately for Thompson, though, several media personalities have already declared him the big winner of today’s debate. Roger Simon explains why.

All he has to do is not fall asleep. All he has to do is not throw up. All he has to do is not drool.

Has there ever been a major presidential candidate with lower expectations on the eve of his first debate than Fred Thompson?

Though he is second in the national polls, the reviews of his campaigning thus far have been savage. He has been portrayed as a goober, a hick and a doofus. No, I take that back. He has been portrayed as a lazy goober, hick and doofus. {…}

{A}ll Thompson has to do to win is to exceed (very low) expectations.

Following a pretty funny Saturday Night Live bit over the weekend, NBC’s Chick Todd the skit lowered “the expectation bar.” Todd added, I mean, if he just shows up and doesn’t drool, we’re going to say, ‘Well, you know, that’s a better performance than I thought.’”

In other words, the media is going to tell us that Thompson excelled, in part because the media expects him to stumble. Todd, Simon, and others have the luxury of establishing the narrative, setting the expectations, and deciding whether those expectations have been met — before the debate even happens.

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http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13172.html

[groovedaddy]

1. Unfortunately, that's to be expected, given the political party

will dealing with here. It's called pandering to the base (instincts?).

[Horse with no Name]

2. Yeah...he is Reaganesque alright

"All he has to do is not fall asleep. All he has to do is not throw up. All he has to do is not drool."....

For all I hate about Hillary, at least she has a pulse.

[babylonsister]

3. I cannot believe this is the guy who's supposedly going to rescue

the rethug party! Slim pickins', for sure! :P

[Horse with no Name]

4. Well in all seriousness...after Bush

Could anyone REALLY do worse?

[babylonsister]

5. Good point! nt

[democrat2thecore]

10. Reagan ran circles around Thompson

While I disagreed with nearly every single policy of Reagan, he was not a man without a pulse. He was lively and engaging and could give a good speech. Thompson is none of those. Reagan looks like Jefferson compared to Fred Thompson.

And by the way, on edit, I was on the receiving end working for Gary Hart and then Walter Mondale. Ask those two guys if Reagan had a pulse. Hart, btw, would have made an incredible president!

[TwilightZone]

6. As low as the expectations are, I think he might not even meet them.

He's in no way prepared for a serious run at the presidency. If his debate performance is the vague non-event that his usual campaign appearance is, this debate could mark the beginning of the end.

That being said, he's an actor, so he'll probably manage to fake his way through it. Even a bad actor can sometimes pull off a decent performance. Reagan was a much better actor as president than he was in Hollywood.

[gratuitous]

12. And then what will the pundits say?

Suppose Hollywood Fred does stumble, and drool, and fall asleep, what will they say then? "Well, he didn't drool quite as much as my basset hound. He's presidential material!" Watch for it.

[TwilightZone]

13. I'm not so sure.

I guess that I wouldn't be surprised if they declared him "not terribly presidential" and focused the post-debate talk on Rudy and Mitt.

[Wickerman]

7. I'm getting Déjà Vu all over again

Haven't we just suffered through a really, really dumb and lazy president?

Don't forget these words from a man who knew his slimeballs:

"Oh sh--, he's dumb as hell. Fred Thompson," Nixon interjects.

[radfringe]

8. shouldn't be a surprise

there was an article about the bushies backing thompson back when thompson's name was first raised as a candidate

they are modeling him after duh-bya

[babylonsister]

9. Great 'toon, radfringe!

:thumbsup:

[Rambis]

11. He is dumber than *

which makes him dangerous because he can be manipulated.

[Vickers]

14. Hunnerd bucks says he *DOES* drool.

:P