There will be no Thompsons among the eight GOP presidential hopefuls as they take the stage for the 90 minute debate from The University of New Hampshire broadcast on FOX News this evening at 9:00 p.m., moderated by Britt Hume.
Tommy Thompson dropped out of the race a little more than a week after the last debate held in Des Moines. Ames straw poll results the week after that debate ratified the judgments of his debate performances.
Fred Thompson just got into the race. Or did he? He set up an "exploratory committee" months ago, his name has been included in polls for months, and his absence was noted as long ago as the first of these debates back in May.
Does participation matter? Will Fred be hurt by not participating? There is a debate about this question.
The New Hampshire GOP chair Fergus Cullen and the Union Leader newspaper seem to think so. Not so long ago Robert Novak reported that the Thompson campaign advisers "believe he must begin with a superior performance in his first debate in order to generate funds."
But the NH GOP chair and the Union Leader are not disinterested parties. Meanwhile, the campaign advisers who were Novak's sources have now been replaced. Yes, a campaign that claims to just be beginning has already had a nearly complete turn over of its staff.
His new(est)staff have a strategy: air an adduring the debate, appear on Leno the same night (higher ratings than FOX News), and drive as much traffic as possible to a website with an on-line announcement tomorrow.
It has also been argued that Fred's strategy is like Rudy's: blow off the early states. If so, dissing New Hampshire will not matter.
If nothing else, this strategy will add some positive to the news that Fred is not in the debate. The strategy could even help make the story of the debate, a story of Fred. Heck, the strategy is working if what I'm writing counts for anything.
If it works, the strategy also helps make the next debate about Fred, too. That might be September 17 from Fort Lauderdale, the "Values Voter Presidential Debate." The story would be his debut. Again.
Update [2007-9-5 20:43:56 by Ross Smith]:The irreverent version is here:
