Candidate Thompson arrives
I was unable to make it to the Seacoast Republican Women’s Chilifest on Saturday (The Washington Post’s Libby Copeland did), but I did catch the former senator at two stops in Manchester on a drizzly Sunday. Here are some thoughts from those events:
Thompson went to Chez Vachon on Kelley Street first. He arrived, on his huge campaign bus, at lunch time, and the place was packed — not with Fred supporters, but with patrons, some of whom were annoyed at the massive press intrusion, but most of whom seemed to enjoy being part of a media event. A few patrons were plants (a couple of young environmentalists asked him very well-rehearsed questions about global warming), but the vast majority were Chez Vachon’s regular Sunday crowd.
He told the global warming guys that climate change was real and that the United States needed to address it. He mentioned working with other nations to find solutions, but he had no specific agenda. (Afterwards, the activists said they were not satisfied with his answer.)
A little girl, 7-year-old Dominique Pomerleau of Manchester, asked what the candidate intended to do about the war. He said it was important to win it and he wanted to do so quickly to bring the troops home, but he did not want to end it for the sake of getting the troops home now. “We don’t want you or your brothers or sisters to have to go back there later on,” he told her.
Sitting for coffee with Mayor Frank Guinta, adviser Mike Biundo, Alderman Mike Garrity and aldermanic candidate Phil Greazzo, Thompson chatted about the presidential race. Was he worried about his relative lack of money and organization? No. “We raised a lot of money” this summer, he said. And, heck, these races aren’t won on money and organization. They’re won on message. “I’m gonna live and die on what I believe and what I think,” he said.
That’s a fine sentiment, but it’s not good strategic thinking. If his campaign had better organization in New Hampshire, he might have brought out bigger crowds — crowds full of known supporters waving signs, giving the impression that people are enthusiastic about his candidacy, and potential supporters ripe for conversion — instead of simply hitting whoever happened to be wherever he stopped. He did have some supporters at Jillian’s, but only a handful. If that is the best his campaign can do, he’s in trouble. He’s a celebrity and he was the big political news of the week. He should have had throngs of Republicans at each Manchester stop. He did not.
Over coffee at Chez Vachon, Thompson said he likes the current primary calendar because it allows a representative sampling of America to be heard. “The early setup that we have is truly a cross-section of America, and that’s a good thing.”
He also sounded a lot like Barack Obama when he said he could bring change to Washington by bringing people together and working on a common, agreed agenda. “I don’t think you can have enough coffee clatches. I don’t think you can have enough bipartisan meetings,” he said. No one will get everyone to agree on everything, he said, but the right leader can bring consensus on many important issues.
Outside the restaurant, as dozens of reporters and photographers circled him, he was asked if he thought he was, as some suggest, similar to Ronald Reagan. He was flattered by the comparison, but answered that he was no Ronald Reagan, and no one else was, either. (His full answer is at the end of this story.)
At Jillian’s, Thompson was again surrounded by more media representatives than supporters. A few were there, and they got autographs and genuinely appreciative handshakes from the candidate. But after quickly working the room, Thompson wound up near the pool tables surrounded entirely by the media and waiting in vain for his burger. He entertained himself by pretending to steal the reporters’ digital tape recorders, then shuffling them around on the table so that afterwards a few reporters didn’t know if they’d picked up the right recorder. They had to play back portions of earlier interviews to see if they’d grabbed the right one.
On the way out I asked Thompson if he was committed to winning the New Hampshire primary.
“Absolutely!” he said. “I’m going to be all over New Hampshire in the next few months.”
If that’s true, he needs to get word to his volunteers on the ground. I talked to volunteer Dan Hughes on Friday for this Saturday National Review piece I wrote, and Hughes told me he knew of no other NH visits Thompson planned to make between now and October. Are two visits a month what constitutes “all over New Hampshire”?
Overall, Thompson did the retail politics bit with ease and charm. He was utterly relaxed. No question stumped him, and his answers, while vague, came across as his genuine beliefs. He was very vague, though. He has real charm on the stump. When told at Chez Vachon that it was the birthday of one of the employees, he initiated and led the singing of “Happy Birthday.” If he spends time here, he could connect with some voters. But he’s going to have to get more specific about his agenda.
As he was about to leave Jillian’s, I was able to get on the bus with him for a few minutes. He talked family and football with Mayor Guinta while waiting for his Jillian’s burger to arrive. The two talked about their kids and how you sometimes have to adjust campaign schedules around family needs. Thompson said he had a perfectly happy family life and was not running for President out of some need to find fulfillment. He told the story of being spotted at an airport while wearing a pink diaper bag on his shoulder and how some people might consider that a negative image, but he was always happy to help his wife and would not be too embarrassed to do so in public.
Just before the food arrived Thompson looked at the TV and realized the Kansas City Chiefs game was on. He got up to change the channel himself, but the remote was nowhere to be found. Someone mentioned putting the Patriots’ game on, and he said, “Patriots or Titans. Can we get both?” An aide found the remote and put on the Titans game just in time to see a Titans player get creamed. Thompson said he hoped it was not a sign about how the Titans’ season, or his campaign, would turn out.
I can’t say the tackle was a sign of anything. But Thompson’s first trip to Manchester as an official candidate was underwhelming. If not for the huge crush of reporters and photographers, both events would have looked sadly small. He really needs a full-time professional team on the ground here if, as he says, he is here to win. The Titans wound up winning yesterday by a field goal. Maybe that will be a metaphor for Thompson’s New Hampshire campaign. Or maybe not. Whatever the future holds, Thompson isn’t going to do as well as he can here if he doesn’t get a good local staff to bring people out to see him, to work the media, and to get people to the polls on Election Day.
Thompson said yesterday that “Election Day is the only day that matters.” But that’s not true. You have to do a lot of hard work before Election Day to make it a success. Every day matters, and the Thompson campaign is losing important days by taking what appears to be a leisurely approach to putting together a New Hampshire campaign.
UPDATE: Fred gets a standing ovation in South Carolina.
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