Fred made Lester Holt, of NBC Today’s Weekend Edition, his personal beyotch this morning. He told them that, frankly, he don’t owe them a DAMN thing!
HOLT: It’s a fair point you make; you don’t engage in it. But you were the victim of some rumors on this subject of your viability and questions if you would drop out. How much did that hurt you?
THOMPSON: Well let’s think about that. It did hurt me, and the media lapped it up. It was put out by another campaign; made no sense at all.
HOLT: Which campaign?
THOMPSON: A few days before the election and made no sense at all, and I was coming strong, and the media took it up, and spread the rumo, and probably cost me two or three points in Iowa. So the lesson there is not, you know, politicians being politicians. The lesson there is that the news media really ought to check these stories out and come to me, and ask me, and take my word for it.
HOLT: Senator, fair shot against the news media, but what candidate were you mentioning that put that out there?
THOMPSON: I owe you nothing, frankly, in that regard and I’m not going to say anything more about it right now.
That’s my guy!!! Watch the video in .wmv format here.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Who pulled a dirty trick… gee… I wonder?
Everyone knows who the dirty player is in this race.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Did Fred Thompson’s campaign start this themselves?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7682.html
January 6th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
That’s good stuff! It’s so disappointing that the media won’t even give Thompson a shot. And my backup vote, Romney, looks to be out soon too. What a stupid election.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I can’t give ya this one Tommy. Fred wants it both ways. He wants to run a campaign, but he doesn’t want to answer questions. So that leads me to believe that he just wants to use the media to get his message out. Independence is one thing, but asking FDT to follow up his own accusation isn’t too demanding of a reporter! After all, Fred is the one who brought it up. He should know from his Law and Order scripts – once the defense enters a statement into testimony, it’s fair game for the prosecution to inquire about it.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
On #1. hehehe. i am so happy Romney is likely to lose Tuesday.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Thompson’s candidacy is like an ink blot test.
It’s all subjective. People see what they want to see. Some see genius. Some see wit. Some see lazy. Some see cranky.
I see a meaningless blot.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
#1, #5, and others. . . This is a serious question/request. Is it at all possible to keep the anti-Romney responses to the posts that actually deal with Romney? Does every single post need anti-Romney diatribes regardless of the topic? We all know you guys don’t like him. That’s fine, I totally respect that. I’m all for debating the facts with you on Romney or anyone else. But can’t we all just be a little more civil and keep the debate a bit more relavent to the respective posts? It gets very tiresome to open each post to see the exact same “Romney is a (fill in the negative characteristic here)” lines from the same people.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Watch out alaska jake, now they’re going to call you a liar or a robot.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Seriously though, is the politico article I posted in #2 inaccurate? Did the Thompson campaign accidently start this rumor themselves?
January 6th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The Romney hate only makes me want yo support him more. Anyone that METRO & AJAY hate would be a great conservative.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
#8. . . I’ve been called worse, even here on R4’08! Seriously, though, I don’t mind the anti-Romney opinions. That’s political debate, and I enjoy it or I wouldn’t be here. I just don’t think it’s necessary in every single post.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
The HunterBust is coming………!
Mark my words……….!
January 6th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
#12. . .Ok, that was off topic but pretty funny! And don’t we need a Hunterboom first?
January 6th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
#12 What? Hunter was in the top three in Wyoming.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
HUNTER CAN ONLY MAINTAIN HIS TOP THREE STATUS FOR SO LONG…
THE HUNTERBUST IS COMING…..!!!!
JAN. 8th…!!!!
MARK MY WORDS………………….!!!
January 6th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
hahaha where’s Abe when we need him!
January 6th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
#15, Hunter isn’t competing in any of the other early primary states, so he isn’t expected to preform well. He has a Feburary 9th strategy.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
so who leaked the story? does anyone have theories?
January 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
joe c,
Robert Novak says it’s Romney.
WHITHER THOMPSON?
Thompson: Victim of Romney dirty tricks.
PUBLISHED reports that Fred Thompson soon will withdraw from the GOP race and endorse McCain have been traced in part to the Romney campaign, trying to stir up strife between McCain and Thompson. But there is no question that McCain strategists would welcome Thompson’s endorsement if he drops out. It could help McCain in the Jan. 19 South Carolina primary.
Thompson finished third in Iowa, slightly ahead of McCain but far behind Mike Huckabee and Romney.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01052008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/romney_crew_starts_infighting_92903.htm
January 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Aron. . . I remember reading that but aside from Novak’s passing half sentence aluding to Romney, there hasn’t been anything else to this. In fact, Novak’s mention of McCain benefiting from a FDT withdrawl seems to implicate McCain more than Romney. How would Romney benefit from FDT dropping out, especially if it’s assumed that he’d endorse McCain?
January 6th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
i thought romney was rooting for a strong fred showing in iowa, to hurt mccain going into NH
January 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
It makes no sense whatsoever that Romney’s campaign would have started this rumor. What would they have to gain by that???? They would love to have Fred’s endorsement, and they are certainly closer on the issues than Fred is with any other candidate.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Yeah, I’m just having a really tough time coming up with a reason for the Mitt camp to make up rumors of Fred quitting. Push polling yourself has a pretzel logic to it, but depressing turnout for a guy you need to be strong to hurt McCain doesn’t have any logic, not even pretzel logic.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
There’s always backroom leaking of information and winks and nods between the candidates and the media. Responsible journalists know how to distinguish fact from fantasy, and know when they’re being played. Tommy did a good job last week of showing just how blatantly anti-Fred politico has been, not just here but other times as well, so I wouldn’t put much faith in their reporting. As for Novak, he is known for inserting events through half-sentences and innuendo into his columns only to never mention said events again. I suppose only time will tell if there is anything to this story.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
it was mccain, obviously who did that. mccain is mr. dirty. seriously, that guy will do anything to become president. but hey, lets try and peg everything on romney just becuase we can. it was romney who was doing the push polling against himself to, remember? it was obviously mccain. fred’s advisors were on tv telling everybody it was mccain.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Aron, remember, it was Novak who claimed Romney was ahead in Iowa a day before their caucus based on the polls of 15,000! That’s an impossible number. I think he just pass around what he has heard, rather than verifying the information himself. I think Illinoisguy is right, Mitt would have survive NH better if McCain lost to Fred much terribly than he did last Thursday. So, why would he start this rumor?
January 6th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
John Galt, yeah I suspect it was McCain because it actually helped him more than it did with anyone. He has the motive to do it. I also think this is why Fred won’t say who it was, as he and McCain once were the best of buddies in Senate. Fred does not care as much for Mitt, and he definitely could help McCain surge ahead in NH if he just say who it is, providing it actually is Mitt’s campaign that did it. No, I think you are right, it’s McCain.
January 6th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
If it was Romney, I think Thompson would flat out say so. If it’s McCain, it would not be wise of Fred to say so because it would throw the election for Romney.
I think Fred is doing the right thing here. I don’t think the election should be decided on this. Let Romney or McCain win or lose on the strength of the issues.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
[...] Lester Holt presses Fred Thompson on who he believes fed the story of his imminent departure from the race to the press: HOLT: It’s a fair point you make; you don’t engage in it. But you were the victim of some rumors on this subject of your viability and questions if you would drop out. How much did that hurt you? [...]