NPR: Fred Thompson Looks for Magic in Bus Tour of Iowa

Fred Thompson Looks for Magic in Bus Tour of Iowa

The people who go to former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson's political gatherings say they are quite unlike those of other candidates: "Less like a revival, much more relaxed than that," said one Iowan.

And as NPR's Robert Smith reports, that is exactly what his campaign people want. They hope people will come to these meetings and soak up the Fred. But they are now worried that not enough soaking is happening, since Thompson waited so long to actually announce his candidacy. So he's now on a 50-city and town tour of Iowa, so that the Fred can be spread around to more places.

But even as he tries to get out more, there is a certain film-timing quality to his stops. For instance, in Tipton, Iowa, his tour of the town lasted about 17-minutes — or about the length of a good action sequence in a movie. Another stop was canceled altogether because the sidewalks were too icy.

People seem to like Thompson, Smith says, although there are more laughs than cheers at his meetings with Iowans. As for his late entry into the GOP contest, Thompson dismisses that concern, saying these days making a decision about which candidate to support is like going to the dentist; people put it off for as long as they can.

And he's betting his campaign on the hope that enough caucus goers haven't made those 'appointments' yet and will go to him instead.

4:02 PM ET | 12-20-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

fred thompson did not impress me in the cnn/youtube debate. And the fact that he mentioned creating a federal ID card program was pretty terrifying.

Sent by Jody Sol | 4:20 PM ET | 12-20-2007

Fred, I want you where I can keep an eye on you, thats on Law & Order.

Romney/McCain, Romney/McCain, Romney/McCain, Romney/McCain,

Sent by Harold | 5:20 PM ET | 12-20-2007

Sent by Harold: Romney/McCain,

Actually, Harold, you said something that almost resembles profound.

At one time I thought the Democrats would use wise strategy in enlisting Bill Richardson for VP, on the march toward Arnold's California. But, I quit accusing the Democrats of using wise strategy, and any Democrat who says that California is a slam dunk is just another conspiracy nut, anymore.

With the South and Southwest pretty much locked up, and Hillary being an Arkansan in New York, that looks like good strategy tagging McCain.

From my point of view, knowing New Yorkers, I always doubted that Rudy would come through in the end. His one day of glory on 9/11 just isn't enough for the home stretch. But, Rudy is important cause he ensures New York goes GOP.

But, you got to admit, Fred Thompson has that Ronald Reagan aura about himself. That really appears across the spectrum. You have to consider that the guy who is the most quiet now, will turn out to be the loudest down the road.

So, don't count Fred out as Mitt's VP. Cause the thing is, I get the feeling there's more compatible chemistry there between the two. McCain is sort of a brash customer. And Kennedy found out with Johnson that a brash VP is not always the best fit.

Yeah, I think Rudy will end up Secretary of State or something along those lines. Which ain't a bad job, ya know.

The plus factor for the GOP is that Hillary has so screwed up the Democrats that the GOP can pretty much finagle around all they want.

C'mon, people, how deep into the rabbit hole can you go with the idea that Hillary has a prayer, before the Democrats start organizing in some way, shape or form.

Naw, the Democrats threw in the towel a long time ago. You guys spent seven years calling the Democrats the 'honest' political party. Apparently you guys never heard of a 'Chicago Election.'

Anyway, conspiracy theorists, let's get those rumors churning out early and often.

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 10:40 AM ET | 12-21-2007

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
Please send me updates from NPR.	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.