I'm not sure which candidate the pundits have been talking about, but it is certainly not the same Fred Thompson I saw in Celebration, Florida on Thursday. He was remarkably bright eyed and bushy tailed, especially considering that we were his third Florida stop on a sweltering day with a temperature of 94 degrees.
It was a rather conservative crowd, as one would expect, but probably a bit further to the right than most. To give you some idea of the prevailing sentiment, one could say it is entirely possible that "Amazing Grace" is Osceola County's unofficial anthem. Although I am unsure of his role, I noted that my church's music director occupied a prominent place along with campaign staff. Seeing him, as well as several other fellow church members surprised me somewhat since I read recently that Huckabee enjoys greater support among conservative Christians.
Fred's campaign thus far has concentrated more on principles rather than specific issues. He made a point of stressing that rights are God given rather than government given. Also prominent was the idea that a government strong enough to give you everything is strong enough to take away anything. Each of the following positions were met with resounding applause:
Pro-Life
2nd Amendment
Border Security
Reduced Federal Spending
Social Security Reform
Supporting Troops in Iraq
His position on supporting the troops should not be taken to mean that he is in favor of a never-ending occupation. It's more along the lines of a desire to do the right thing for the Iraqi people and US interests. Regarding national security he said, "There are 20 year-old in our military who know more about what's going on the politicians in Washington with twenty years of experience". The crowd went wild. We also heard some of the down-home type expressions Thompson is known for. For example, referring to the immigration reform of the 80's and the recent failed immigration reform effort he said, "they tried to sell the same horse twice". Once again he judged his audience accurately.
We had a lot of fun meeting other supporters, especially three who made the trip over from Lakeland, FL. Ruth had an especially good time.
After the question and answer period my daughter was the first to greet Fred and he graciously gave her a hug and signed her campaign sign (she has not stopped talking about it since). I could have left at that point, but I decided to maintain my prime spot directly next to Fred so I could see how he interacted with everyone. Thus I was able to witness the following:
Ruth from Lakeland: "I think you can beat Hillary".
Fred Thompson: "I think I can, too".
