Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Fred Thompson Shoots Himself in the Foot (And Cuban "Suitcase Terrorists" Have Nothing to Do With It This Time)

When William F. Buckley was running on a lark for mayor of New York City in 1965 on the Conservative Party ticket, he was asked what he would do if he won the election. "Demand a recount!" he famously replied. Fred Thompson has taken a page from Buckley's old playbook; but unlike Buckley, who could afford to be flippant because he had no chance of winning and probably improved his showing with his candor, Fred Thompson did not do himself a favor and certainly did not amuse his fanatical followers when he admitted that he was unelectable. That he did so on camera and before an audience only made matters worse.

Thompson was waiting to be interviewed on the air by FOX News, which should have been an easy venue: these MSM folks, at least, wanted to make him look good but Thompson would not collaborate. It had taken longer than expected for the interview to get underway and reporter Carl Cameron quibbed to his producers: "The next president of the United States has a schedule to keep." Without missing a beat, Thompson interjected: "And so do I." Apparently, Fred Thompson must have thought that he was still on Saturday Night Live. His "people" cringed in disbelief and forced themselves to smile for the cameras, which is a trick they have learned to perfection. The host chided Thompson, "You can't do that kind of stuff!"

Thompson's followers always believed that their man actually had a chance even if Thompson himself never seemed particularly energized for the race. If he didn't get the nomination, Thompson at least had a good chance of being asked to share the ticket with Guiliani as a sop to conservative Republicans. Now, however, his chances of being on the Republican ticket, in any capacity, have plummetted from slim chance to fat chance.

For my part, it was the first time that I ever found Thompson likable or that he reminded of Ronald Reagan. Indeed, in some ways it seemed a re-play of Reagan's faux pas, when, during a rehearsal for a speech, the Gipper, unscripted, gave mock orders to nuke the Soviet Union which went over a live feed. What a holiday the MSM had at the old cold war warrior's expense! The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists even set the "Doomsday Clock" to 3 minutes before midnight because of Reagan's remark, which supposedly revealed his heart's "black secret." In a few years, of course, the Soviet Union would be no more and the nuclear clock would be put in mothballs even if the nukes themselves were not.

This political gaffe is not going to end Thompson's candidacy or even create a national sensation, because, let's face it, the gravitas level in this election campaign is not exactly set on high. He'll continue to prod his way on the road to Also-Ran, which is not a town in Mongolia, though it might as well be.

Personally, I don't mind that Fred Thompson is Reagan-Lite. What worries me is that he is also Tancredo-Lite and Newt Gingrich-Lite. If he were elected president, it would be greatest calamity that could befall Hispanics short of Tancredo or Gingrich themselves being elected. Thankfully, those "shining lights" are pretty much extinguished and Thompson's own bulb is flickering.

I guess that with Newt Gingrich out of the race and Fred Thompson hoisted on his own petard, Henry Gómez and the other Babalunians will have no choice but to support Tom Tancredo.


POSTSCRIPT:

The "Doomsday Clock" is still ticking, after all. In fact, on January 17, 2007, the Board of Directors of the University of Chicago even moved the clock forward two minutes to just 5 minutes before midnight. This change had nothing to do with the nuclear threat, however. For the first time since it was created in 1947, the clock was advanced because "the dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons." Yes, now the world is threatened by so-called global warming, not thermonuclear warming. I think we can all breath a sigh of relief, even it that's not what these nuclear "Seventh-Day Adventists" intended.

Also see:

Henry Explains Fred Thompson to Us

Fred Thompson: Cuban "Immigrants" Are Suitcase Bombers

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

That big fat head of his is so full of.... himself!

Vana said...

Woe be unto us if Thompson is elected, thank God it does not look like he will, that slip of the tongue of his just goes to prove he has no hope or chance...lol...but it is funny

Vana said...

Manuel:

On another note, have you heard from Agustin? his absence has me preocupied, I can only hope he finds himself in good health.

Ms Calabaza said...

Mr. Tellechea,

all I know about Thompson and Cuba was the excellent video clip when he responded to Michael Moore's Cuban healthcare propaganda movie. Is there something I've missed about his feelings as to Cuban Americans? Do you happen to have a link I could read about this? Thanks. Ms. C.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Ms. Calabaza:

At the bottom of this post, you will find links to two previous posts on Thompson, which challenge his absurd contention that the balseros are actually "suitcase bombers" sent here by Castro to wreak havoc on America. For the record, no balsero has ever been found in possession of a bomb and very few indeed have taken a suitcase on their journey.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Vana:

I believe our friend Agustín is well. He visited us this week but did not comment. I also miss his trenchant observations.

Vana said...

Thank you Manuel at least we know he's well

Sharpshooter said...

Manuel and Vana,
I have been very busy at home doing some needed changes in the gardening dept. Since is spring here, we have also done some repairs to the house and the pool area. All of this has got me away from too much web browsing although as Manuel noted, I do log on and see what is going on from time to time.
Also we have been taking advantage of the wonderful weather and the my new bike to do some traveling with my wife to various parts of Argentina we had not visited before. I want to thank you very much for your concern. All is well with us, but we have been a little busy during these past few weeks awaiting my mother's visit.

Ms Calabaza said...

Thanks for the links. I'll read them today - I had no idea he had made these comments.

Vana said...

Agustin:

Welcome back!! I'm glad to hear you are enjoying yourself in fine weather, while we get ready for winter, also relieved that you and yours are well and in good health, please don't be a stranger, do let us know how you are from time to time so we don't worry.

Vana said...

Oh Agustin enjoy your mom's visit!

Sharpshooter said...

Vana,
thanks for the good wishes. My Mom is 85 years old and she decided she wanted to come here and spent some time with us and get away from the harsh Northeast winters. Since she suffers from angina, the cold weather does not agree with her. Hopefully she will enjoy these months here seeing some of the country she has never seen before. We are looking forward to her visit. Although we live in a very small town we have all the comforrts of home. Natural gas, Internet, good communications, a big lake close by, and by Argentine standards, very safe so far. Meaning one can walk through the town at anytime of the day and night without being scared out of your wits, like in Buenos Aires. Thanks for thinking of us. My wife just came back a month ago from a trip to Cuba to visit her family and I have several stories depicting life in Cuba whcih might be of some interest to some of us who visit frequently Manuel's blog. I have been compiling them and will post as commentaries later on.

Vana said...

You are very welcome Agustin, and yes please tell us of your wife's travel to Cuna, will be looking forward to it

Vana said...

oooops Cuba

Anonymous said...

Those stories have to be interesting.... did she take pictures?

Sharpshooter said...

Charlie,
yes she did take pictures, but mostly were inside her mom's house as the authorities called her to task when she was filming the streets in Guantanamo and the sad state of disrepair of the houses in the town. But she filmed the road from Guantanamo to Holguin and that road was a disaster. Her stories about life in Cuba are enough to fill a big book of horrors. But here is one of them.
One of her relatives works in a hospital in that city, and she injured herself and had sought medical help to see an orthopedician and to have her arm x-rayed. She was told there were no specialists to look at her problem and she was told to wait for 4 months for an appointment to see the doctor. Meanwhile her own husband was in Venezuela as a medical doctor earning $9,900 for the Cuban regime while being paid $50 dollars a month. Also my wife was told by the same relative that the Cuban doctors inflate the medical bills presented to the Venezuelan Govt. for the patients they attended with X-rays, electrocardiograms etc eventhough they sought help for a minor ailment such as a ingrown nail. The doctors themselves feel very bad about this but they are told they have to fulfill a certain quota of tests and checkups to pad the bill and enlarge it for Chavez. So while in Cuba the people cannot find a specialist doctor and are being attended by last year medical students or recent graduates from the School of Medicine, the Venezuelan patients are being treated by all sorts of doctors and specialists sent from Cuba to bill the Clown Chavez for these services. She searched for over 3 days to find toilet paper to purchase with dollars at a shopping! Finally after 3 days she went to another city and found 4 small rolls for 1.80 CUC the quality of which according to her, was not even near the worst paper we find here. All of this of course at a price so far out of reach for the average Cuban to make it impossible for them to buy it. She found the situation so bad she was ready to leave after only 5 days into her visit. Naturally, if one was to place this comment on the Cuban Triangle for example, the likes of commenters like Leftside would say that all of these are lies and made up stories.

Anonymous said...

Agustin, I just wish (and I still have a faint hope for it) that the world open their eyes to the real nightmare of the Cuban people....
Thanks for sharing the story with us. If you can obtain stills from the video, it would be worth to publish what that nightmare is, for the sake of the naive, the stupid, and the incredulous....
My regards to your wife.

Vana said...

Thank you Agustin for telling us this story of your wife's travel to Cuba, she was ready to leave on the 5th day, I can understand why, my sister when she went would cry in the shower so my aunt would not see her, she too was ready to leave sooner than she had to, the Cuban reality is a walking nightmare

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

On the same day I published this post, Henry Gómez declared on the Babalu [Faux] Radio Hour that he had made a contribution (we suppose financial) to Thompson's electoral campaign. Well, that will show me. If every time that I attack Thompson Henry takes out his checkbook, I will be sure to attack the rube more often (I mean, Thompson). It seems a rather easy way to separate a fool from his money.

Radio Babalú, which, incidentally, was not broadcast the previous week and was hosted solo this week, seems to winding down to its inevitable conclusion. I guess it wasn't any fun to do the show anymore when I stopped reviewing it. Henry also denied on the "air" that he was an annexationist and criticized the illegal seizure of Elián, disingenuously failing to mention that he had supported the return of Elián to Cuba prior to the seizure. These are all issues that I have addressed here before. Henry's denials show that he is now generally known in the terms in which I have defined him. That acknowledgment is a satisfying tribute to the effectiveness and diffusion of RCAB.

Vana said...

Manuel:

Seems Henry changes his mind every time he pees, I hope he is listening to you, you just may help mold him into a new and better man.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Vana:

You are right; there is not enough gold in the world to repay me for the lessons in cubanidad which I have offered Val & Henry; nor do I desire anything from them except that they reform and, as you say, "become new and better men" and patriots.