Fred Thompson's Debate Debut

The Republican presidential debate yesterday was a coming out event for Fred Thompson.

The candidate participated in his first debate of the '08 presidential race.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 -- Based on the previews of Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, it seemed much of the wise-guy set was expecting the newcomer, former Senator Fred D. Thompson, to star in the political equivalent of a Nascar wreck.

Such were the expectations created by Mr. Thompson’s early reviews on the stump. He has been panned as ill prepared, uninterested and lazy.

“All he has to do is not fall asleep,” the columnist Roger Simon wrote of Mr. Thompson in Tuesday’s edition of the Politico, a political Web site. “All he has to do is not throw up.”

And upset of upsets — Mr. Thompson did not throw up, fall asleep or, for that matter, drool (another stated benchmark).

Plus, he even knew who the leader of Canada was. “Harper,” Mr. Thompson answered confidently in response to a potential gotcha from Chris Matthews of MSNBC.

“Prime Minister Harper,” Mr. Thompson added for good measure, as if hoping for extra credit for “prime minister.”

It was a nothing exchange, except that Mr. Thompson’s campaign might never have recovered had he answered it wrong.

That's absolutely right.

Had Thompson fumbled that question, it could have damaged him significantly.

And that's exactly why Democrat partisan hack Chris Matthews asked it.

He didn't test any of the other candidates in the same manner.

“I see no reason to think we’re headed for an economic downturn,” Mr. Thompson said in his first answer of the afternoon, in response to a question about the health of the economy. It was clear enough, except that Mr. Thompson paused for an uncomfortable three seconds between the “for” and the “economic downturn,” as if he was tripping over a line and was expecting a director to jump in for a re-take.

That's a cheap shot. How many lame references to Thompson's acting career will the media toss out at the public?

I suspect the lib media will never let it go as long as Thompson is a candidate. He's the professional actor, but let's be honest. Aren't all theeee candidates actors?

Moreover, there's nothing wrong with a candidate choosing his words carefully.

I would be much more comfortable spending a few "uncomfortable" seconds with Thompson than I would spending four years with any of the Democrat candidates or Ron Paul.

In time, Mr. Thompson sounded increasingly practiced and prepared, as if he had pulled a series of all-nighters in preparation for his coming-out role. He exuded a certain joylessness for much of the proceeding, speaking in a solemn monotone and almost never smiling. It was as if he were taking an oral examination, and in a sense he was.

These debates are oral examinations for all the candidates, Republican and Democrat.

Isn't that the point?

As far as the "joylessness" goes, I agree that Thompson didn't exactly look like a kid on Christmas morning. Still, had he been jumping for joy, it would have been weird; like Hillary Clinton cackling her way through her Sunday morning talk show marathon a few weeks ago.

Personally, I wasn't put off by Thompson's demeanor.

Upon completing his first answer, the camera caught Mr. Thompson taking a deep breath, in a discernable look of relief.

I don't know. It seems like there's a lot of projection there.

At debate’s end, Maria Bartiromo of CNBC asked Mr. Thompson whether he regretted waiting so long to get in. No, he said, with a rare grin.

“I’ve enjoyed watching these fellows,” he said. “I’ve got to admit, it was getting a little boring without me. But I’m glad to be here now.”

The hall filled with laughter and applause.

I think it was a bit of a mistake for Thompson to have held off from joining the fray as long as he did. His delayed entry and the ensuing heightened expectations almost guaranteed a certain letdown.

The other candidates did seem more at ease, but they had the luxury of knowing that they weren't being scrutinized to the same degree that Thompson was.

Thompson's every facial expression and every sigh is being analyzed. He didn't smile. He was almost Al Gore-ish wooden. Whatever.

For the others, it was just another debate. For Thompson, it was billed as a make or break event. I'm convinced that Chris Matthews was hoping to break him with that Canada question.

I really don't think of this as being Thompson's first debate. It was more of an introduction to the process and an exercise in media hype.

That's behind Thompson now. The important reviews of Thompson's performance are yet to come.

Now that Thompson has his first debate under his belt, I look forward to spending more time listening to what he has to say rather than examining how he says it.