Tuesday, December 04, 2007

A Different Sort of Campaign   [Rich Lowry]

Fred Thompson famously was going to run a different sort of campaign, and he has, without much in the way of results so far. It's Huckabee who has run the successful different sort of campaign. He hasn't raised any money—in fact, despite lots of criticism in the press, he has always preferred doing yet more media interviews to raising money. He has very little organization to speak of in the organization-state, Iowa. He went up on the air with a jokey Chuck Norris ad when all the pundits said he had to be more serious. He has thrived on exactly what was in theory going to boost Fred—superior communications skills that have shined in the debates and in interviews; good gut political instinct; Southern charm and an inherit likeability; a very grounded sense of authenticity. Plus, the grass roots enthusiasm of social conservatives. Maybe this means—despite my skepticism—Fred wasn't wrong to think he could run a different sort of campaign. Huck proves it’s possible.

12/04 04:20 PMShare