The Incredible, Invisible Tommy Thompson
What is it about Tommy Thompson that makes the press treat him as if he didn’t exist? I have been waiting to hear more from him since the first debate, when he impressed me with some astute answers delivered with a refreshing forthright manner that seemed in sharp contrast to the rest of the candidates dancing and evading around issues they didn’t really seem to grasp.
Last night I was finally able to watch the Iowa debate and true to the reviews I had seen, it was not worth the wait. The only candidate that seemed to have anything worthwhile to say was Thompson. Stephanopoulos seemed determined to make sure he got no more than 15 second stretches (about 3 of them in total) to speak. Unless I fell asleep during one of Romney’s monologues and missed it, Tommy wasn’t even invited to answer a couple of the questions that Stephanopoulos announced would be put to everyone.
Matt, at Driving Too Fast Down The Middle Of The Road, did a complete review of each candidates performance and I think his analysis, as usual, is dead on.
As for Tommy, The Incredible Invisible Thompson, The Candidate not The Actor - well.. unless he does something truly
scandalous that opportunistic reporters won’t be able to resist reporting on, chances are we won’t hear nearly enough from him before he fades completely out of sight.
I did a Google and the last actual news story, an unflattering piece about Tommy’s need to go to the bathroom by Fox News, was back in May. Maybe he should show up at one of Obama’s news conferences and slap a female reporter on the ass with a rakish wink. He’ll get all kinds of press, most of it bad but hey, they are all getting mostly bad press, except Hilary - but thats a discourse for another day.
So what do you say Tommy? Get out there and slap some asses. Make us proud!
:-) Ass slapping (with the requisite rakish wink) might be the only Thompson and the rest of the so-called second tier candidates get any substantial press coverage. If you’re a Democratic candidate whose name isn’t Clinton, Obama, or Edwards, you’re all but invisible to most of the media (even if you’re standing on a stage with Democratic candidates whose names are Clinton, Obama, and Edwards.)
August 26th, 2007 at 2:23 pmPoor Tommy. I am afraid the sun has set on his parade before the first float was launched. As for the dems.. I like Joe, he has the good sense to say something outrageous every now and then and keep his name in news.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:39 pm