On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts

Looks like Fred Thompson, the television star and ex-senator, is joining the Republican presidential field.

The Politico broke the news this morning. Here’s the link.

Thompson, according to advisers, is forming the ever-popular exploratory committee. Sound like there will be some sort of an announcement in Virginia next week.

My colleague Todd Dorman covered the Iowa angle pretty well in a post yesterday.

The question in Iowa, of course, is will Thompson play here? And if he does, will he compete in the Aug. 11 straw poll in Ames?

If he doesn’t, might he swoop in afterward and try to compete after the inevitable thinning of the heard.

Thompson starts off behind in Iowa, of course. Mitt Romney, John McCain, et al., have all been regular visitors. But, recall, George W. Bush didn’t make his first stop here until June, 1999, two months before the straw poll.

True, not the best analogy. Bush had been “courted” by Iowans long before he got here and he came into the state with a certain “aura of inevitability.” That was the phrase we heard so much back then. Also, the organizations of the front runners this go-round are probably meatier than those of Bush’s competitors eight years ago.

But, all that said, Bush still needed to build his own organization in order to win the straw poll and, of course, the caucuses. He did both.

The dissatisfaction with the present GOP field has opened the door to Thompson. Now that he’s decided to go through it, we’ll see if he walks into Iowa’s living rooms and what kind of welcome he gets.

Lots of campaign activity coming up over the next few days and into the Memorial Day weekend.

Sam Brownback, a Republican hopeful, will be at Thunder Bay Grille, 6511 N. Brady St., at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Info: 515-221-1001.

Barack Obama will be in Davenport on Monday at the Golden Leaf Banquet Center, 2902 E. Kimberly Road, Davenport. Event starts at 7:30 p.m. To get in, call 445-6774.

Joe Biden, Democratic candidate, will be at the Lyons Train Depot, 56 25th Avenue North, Clinton. That will be at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd made his first television ad in Iowa a memorable one.

You can see it here.

Dodd, a Connecticut senator, focuses on Iraq and touts his plan to get out by forcing a troop withdrawal by March 31, 2008. He then criticizes his rivals by saying “unfortunately my colleagues running for president have not joined me.” (Note: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, does favor cutting off funds).

More pointedly, if a bit indirectly, Dodd also looks to be taking a shot at Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York. He says: “We can’t simply wait for a new president. We should have the conviction to stand up to this one.” Clinton often says that if President Bush doesn’t end the war, she will.

It’s not exactly a screaming attack ad, but it gets the point across. The ad is Dodd’s first, and it’s running in Iowa and New Hampshire.

For a guy who’s far back in the pack in the polls, it’s an interesting way to introduce yourself. The ad may be a bit risky, but there’s some history to show it might be a good move.

Howard Dean got on the map by attacking the war — and the Democrats who voted to authorize it — before the 2004 caucuses.

That’s a bit tougher this cycle. (For one: Dodd was among those voting to authorize the war, though he’s since said it was a mistake). And, of course, there’s all sorts of folks taking tough anti-war stands.

But as the war drags on (both in Iraq and between the White House and Congress over what to do about it), there’s a significant chunk of Democratic voters who yearn for the Dean-like feistiness this ad appears aimed at projecting.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has a new web site devoted to his Iowa campaign.

Find it here.

UPDATE: Sorry for the bad link. Having some technical problems. The address is www.johnedwards.com/iowa. Thanks to Roger Butts for the right address while I let maintenance lapse over the weekend.

UPDATE II: Okay, now it’s fixed. 

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson hasn’t stopped in the Q-C yet, but you can catch him on the TV (or the web).

Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, has just started running ads that introduce himself.

The spots are running statewide, including in the QC.

They’re kind of quirky. You can see them here.

The first features the governor in front of a prospective employer who rattles off his credentials (cabinet secretary, ambassador, foreign policy troubleshooter, governor….), then asks, “So, what makes you think you can be president?”

The music comes up and Richardson shoots a ”can you believe this guy?” look to the camera. Words on the screen read: “To be continued…”

The second ad follows the same theme.

The ads shows some humor. “It reflects the governor’s personality,” says Iowa spokesman Tom Reynolds.

Some analysts said Richardson was too serious in the debate in South Carolina a couple of weeks ago. For Iowans who thought so, too, this ad will likely tilt against that notion.

Of course, there’s a risk introducing a presidential candidate with a light hearted ad. After all, there’s a war on.

“These are serious times, but sometimes those are the most important times to be able to prompt a smile and start anew,” Dave Contarino, Richardson’s campaign manager said.

The debate is over. The spinning has begun. Before I get too dizzy, here are some thoughts, off the top of my head, about each of the candidates in no particular order.

Giuliani had to talk about abortion, but he also got ample time to lay out his record in New York. He seemed to most want to talk about national security issues and he, again, warned that if Democrats are in the White House the United States would be “on the defense” in the war on terror. That’s something that grinds Democrats, and consequently, will delight the Republicans. Whether that’s enough to get him over the hump with conservatives who heard him clearly say that an abortion is a woman’s choice, remains to be seen.

John McCain defended strongly his stand on the Iraq War, shook with a bit of anger when he criticized Democrats on the issue and, in no uncertain terms, took positions that aren’t going to win him favor with many social conservatives. Like on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The Arizona senator again called prosecution of the war poorly handled, and while he didn’t name President Bush the message was clear.

Mitt Romney got a lot of questions, though not all of them ones he likely wanted. He had to face the flip-flop question on abortion and said he’d changed his mind while studying the human cloning question. That aside, the ex governor of Massachussetts, who wins praise at rallies for being an articulate guy, was, well, articulate on a host of issues. He warned that, if we don’t win in Iraq, we face the risk of going back.  

Sam Brownback was plain-spoken and, interestingly, said he could support a GOP nominee who’s not pro-life, though he established his own pro-life credentials on that question. Not a lot of people know Brownback, but they got a reasoned introduction.

Tommy Thompson’s best moment was probably when he got about a minute to talk, uninterrupted about his tenure in Wisconsin. Given the rapid fire questioning by Chris Matthews, it was a rare moment for a candidate to work his own talking points. Thompson, who trails in the polls, made the most of it.

Mike Huckabee. He won the laugh of the night when he said he’d be willing to change the Constitution when he finished up his two terms so Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could run. Otherwise, he got a chance, though probably not as much as he’d like, to talk about his record in Arkansas. His personal story, though, wasn’t touched and that’s a major selling point for him.

Duncan Hunter. He sought to make the most of his post as past chair of the House Armed Services Committee and his belief that the U.S. must win in Iraq.

Tom Tancredo. The congressman has a reputation of taking hard positions without a lot of nuance. He reinforced that tonight, for good or ill.

Jim Gilmore. The ex governor of Virginia didn’t get a lot of time, but tried to establish himself as a consistent conservative. There were lots of folks seeking that ground.

Ron Paul. Last on the list, but because of his opposition to the Iraq War, probably got noticed. In a Republican primary that may not be a good thing, though. 

Interesting responses to a question about whether Congress should have involved itself in the Terry Schiavo case in Florida, where the woman was being kept on life support but her husband wanted to remove her and was opposed by her parents.

Of course, the issue became a touchstone with a lot of conservatives.

Mitt Romney says “it was a mistake.”

Sam Brownback says it was the right move. “We should stand for life in all circumstances.”

John McCain says Congress acted “too hastily.”

Rudy Giuliani says it should have been left to the courts.

Duncan Hunter says Congress did the right thing.

All the Republicans say it would be a bad thing for Bill Clinton to return to the White House.

Moderator Chris Matthews asks the question of all the candidates. Not sure what the question was meant to accomplish. But there it was.

“You have got to be kidding,” says Romney.

 ”It’s a lousy idea,” says Tom Tancredo.

I’m shocked, shocked.

John McCain’s been faulted for jumping off the Straight Talk Express he made famous in 2000. But consider this: He was asked about whether he’d use government funding to pay for embryonic stem cell research. McCain said he would. “I feel we need to fund this,” he said.

And on evolution, he unequivocally says he believes in it. Then, he adds when looking upon the Grand Canyon in his home state of Arizona he sees “the hand of God.”

Rudy Giuliani says that he’d get rid of the estate tax. No surprise. But he adds he’d also “look at” reduction in marginal tax rates. President Bush made that promise in 1999 in Iowa, and it helped him establish his conservative credentials, which were under attack at the time.