The Weekly Standard's Stephen F. Hayes gives the backstory on Fred Thompson's video response to leftwing propaganda filmmaker Michael Moore, and how it upstaged the May 15 Republican presidential debate.
When Thompson and his advisers talk about running a "different kind of campaign," this is what they mean. They believe he can use the Internet--in videos, audio files, and written commentary--to communicate directly with voters. His message will be unfiltered and therefore somewhat protected from mischaracterization by a left-leaning press corps in Washington. Campaign events will be filmed and posted so that interested parties--in this case, very interested parties--can see for themselves whether a Thompson performance was actually "lackluster" or lackluster only in the eyes of reporters. It is all part of Thompson's plan.
And Thompson is planning to run for president. His friends and advisers have moved on from the will-he-won't-he talk of just a month ago. Now, they speak of an exploratory committee. Barring some new unforeseen obstacle, he will be in by late June.
Thompson has had a timeline in mind ever since he told Chris Wallace in early March that he was seriously considering a bid. Despite lots of advice about the timing of an announcement--most of it unsolicited--his timeline remains largely unchanged. (When I pressed him on whether he'd be a full-fledged candidate by the Iowa straw poll in Ames on August 11, Thompson demurred, saying only that he was well aware of the date.)
The story's final bit about Thompson's Cuban cigars is funny.
Thompson's clearly reaching online conservatives with his unconventional campaign, but there comes a time that he's going to have to do what everyone else running for president: travel to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to shake hands with voters. Still, I can't help but believe Thompson's going to find a better way to do that, too.
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