Is It Too Late for Fred Thompson?

Byron York wonders if Fred Thompson could still be the best man to be the Republican nominee.

York writes:

Something has happened to Thompson in recent weeks. Yes, his schedule is still astonishingly light for a presidential candidate. And yes, he sometimes still underwhelms audiences. But in the last month or so Thompson has acted like a man who has been liberated from something. And that is what voters saw on stage Wednesday: a presidential candidate who has declared himself fully free of the stupid stuff one has to do to become president of the United States.

If you’re going to ask Fred Thompson to participate in a grade-school show of hands, or demand that he sign a pledge, or insist that he speak emotionally and at length about how much his religious faith means to him, well, you can just forget it. He’s not gonna do it.

The moment of final liberation came when Des Moines Register editor Carolyn Washburn, the schoolmarmish moderator whom commentator Fred Barnes would later refer to as “Nurse Ratched,” asked the candidates to raise their hands if they believed that “global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity.” Before anyone could say anything, Thompson interrupted.

“I’m not doing hand shows today,” he said. “No hand shows.”

“Is that yes or no for you?” Washburn asked. “Do you believe that global climate change is — “

“Well, do you want to give me a minute?” Thompson responded.

“No.”

“Then I’m not going to answer it.”

“How about thirty seconds?”

“No. You know — you want a show of hands. I’m not giving it to you.”

The audience loved it. Thompson, and Thompson alone, had stood up to the silliness that can characterize even self-styled serious-minded debates like the one conducted by the Register. Thompson scored again when he made effective points about entitlement reform, about the role of the National Education Association in blocking education reform, and about presidential leadership. His performance was so good that it underscored what has been, until recently, one particularly strange irony of this campaign. The showbiz guy is one of the best candidates when it comes to substance. He just had trouble selling the product.

Is it too late for Thompson?

It ain't over, till it's over.
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Carolyn Washburn's performance: Priceless.