Ah Freddie, We Hardly Knew Ye

Well, we've got a mixed bag of news today. In the non-political arena, Heath Ledger was found dead yesterday. Gone at the age of 28. The lesson? Not sure. Don't judge your insides by other people's outsides, maybe. Here's someone who led a life we think we all would love, but he was clearly miserable. In any event, he was a real talent and gave the world some wonderful performances as an actor.

Apropos of yesterday's post, the Fed slashed its interest rate by 75 basis points to 3.50%. Watch out for inflation, as we mentioned yesterday.

And the dust up between Hil and Barry has some of his supporters suggesting that he find a surrogate to take on Bill. Hmm. Must've read my post on the 21st.

And finally, 'Ol Fred packed it in. And that's what we'll focus on today. Because it is such an anti-climactic news story, it gives us the opportunity to spend a little time on bigger questions concerning the Republican race and the Republican message. So let's get to it.

In April of 2007, I was down at one of my favorite places in the world, Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi. As I finished my round, I overheard one golfer say to another, "I'm gettin' my Fred 08 buttons tomorrow. Want some?" The response was, "Hell, yeah. 'Bout time we got someone we can get behind."

Ah, yes. That was the promise of Fred Thompson. Someone the good 'ol boys could get behind. Son of the South. No crap. Good wit. Conservative principles. Tall.

Too bad the promise was never delivered. On his website http://www.fred08.com/ Fred talked of having doors open and walking through them toward opportunity. Ironically, the door opened again so he could walk away.

So what happened? Why didn't he resonate more? Was it really a question of not having enough fire in the belly? Or was it something else? Something to do with his message?

First of all, I think his Hollywood resume clouded his political resume. I felt there was only a little to know about Fred and none of it seemed to point to why he should be Potus. The comparisons to Reagan were not based on reality. Remember, people, Ronald Reagan ran for President four times before winning the nomination. He was considered a national joke and he was never, I mean never, taken seriously as a national candidate until 1980. Talk about fire in the belly. That's a persistence Fred can only dream about.

And then Fred's one real accomplishment that could translate to the job of President was never adequately showcased. Until I went to his website, I had no idea that he had been Chair of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that enacted a law requiring federal agencies to calculate the true cost of regulations on the taxpayer and businesses. He also held hearings that forced those agencies to tally up the total cost of improper payments each year. The figure for one year came to $20 billion. I find that impressive. The size and waste of the Federal Bureaucracy is a real issue for our economy and our government. Getting agencies to admit a problem is a huge achievement.

But I think his lack of relevance ultimately stemmed from the political sea change that rejects what I call "either/or" politics. It started with the centrist movement of Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council. For example, Clinton understood that Democrats had to capitulate on Republican wish-list items like welfare reform--because the majority of Americans wanted it. Clinton also capitulated on other issues (telecom deregulation comes to mind) to spur a bourgeoning sector of the economy. That, in turn, contributed to the single largest economic expansion in our nation's history.

Unfortunately, the backlash of Clinton's moral laxity and dishonesty led just enough people to embrace a standard bearer of appropriate personal conduct, George Bush. And even he assured everyone that he was a centrist ("compassionate conservative", no "nation building"). Well, we know what happened there. And now, we find ourselves gearing up for another backlash that will send the country in a new direction.

So, clearly, no one, except for the hard core conservative, is going to believe that ancient conservative bromides will handle the challenges of today. For example, to preach the small government and reduced regulation message of the Reagan years, at a time when greed and chicanery in a major financial sector (subprime mortgages) has sent the global marketplace reeling, is not going to resonate. People are ready for a little government oversight and some innovative approaches to safeguard our markets.

It is no coincidence that the more centrist Repubs like McCain and Huckabee are leading the pack. They have a mixed message that non-partisan Americans recognize as "reality", even as it drives the hard core of their party crazy. It's also telling that once Mitt Romney calibrated his message away from his early "I can out conservative any conservative" reinvention, he has done better. On that point, the ultimate irony of Romney's situation is that if he had run as the same guy who became governor in Massachusetts, he'd be well in front. The majority of the country, as so many have noted, is not living on the extreme fringes of either party, but 5 degrees to the left or right of center.

So the big question for you Repubs to help me with today is: If Fred Thompson was the real conservative deal and his regurgitation of the old conservative platform did not resonate, what is the new message that will resonate?

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