I caught a bit of Zach Wamp on Tucker yesterday, and I got to tell you, it was funny. When you read the following, say Wamp’s portion with a goofy Tennessee accent:
CARLSON: OK. When—now his numbers are great, I mean, amazing for someone who‘s not technically in the race. Do you expect them to go down when he actually gets in? I mean, what is—what is going on here? Why are his numbers so high when he‘s not actually a candidate?
WAMP: Well, my view is he has maximized the ability to do it his own way and to walk down his own path in his own shoes. I do believe that all this needs to be a definitive month, because this, to me, is like JELL-O being made. There‘s a point at which you need to put the ingredients in, because this is going to form like JELL-O between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
And you‘re going to know the race on both sides. And then the big dance is January, and as he prepares for that, I think August needs to be a definitive month, and actually, September needs to be an action month.
So I‘m looking forward to the weeks ahead, because I‘ve got these people just champing at the bit, ready to go as soon as the gun fires. You‘re got activists all over the country, including members of the House of Representatives that I have recruited and talked to, that are ready to rock and roll for Fred Thompson.
It appears that Fred Thompson may be poised to win the Winston Cup. Or something.
KCinDC
Maybe we need Wamp units to go with the Friedman units. Every month he can come out and say, “The next month will be critical for the Thompson campaign.” At some point they can announce a surge.
ThymeZone
The Tennessee stud was long and lean
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
And there never was a hoss like the Tennessee stud
Otto Man
So the pivotal moment is August, and also September, and then the run-up to Thanksgiving in October and November, and then the big dance in January.
Thanks for narrowing that down for us, Wampster.
Jimmmmm
Re: Fred Thompson:
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.
Bill H
You’re obviously not a “NASCAR dad.” It’s now the Nextel Cup.
norbizness
Didn’t Luke Skywalker used to bullseye Wamp Rats in my T-16 back home?
Wilfred
Like JELL-O forming? And they said metaphor was as dead as mayonnaise on Wonderbread.
ThymeZone
Courtesy TPM.
Next up: The possible candidacies of Mr. Bean, and Arnold Schwarzenegger?
I yearn for the good old days when Pat Paulsen ran for president every four years, and stood up for the common man.
jg
Did Lorrie Morgan just say that the right is a bunch of women who feel safe with a strong handed leader?
Jake
???
Actually it sounds like Ms. Morgan is pining for a hard-workin’ gal pal. I know exactly … zero guys who like to be complimented on their soft places.
And does anyone really think women base their votes on how snuggly they find a particular candidate?
ThymeZone
It helps to understand this if you sing the words to my earlier post in the voice of Eddy Arnold, the Tennessee Plowboy.
John S.
She wants a man with a slow hand…she wants a leader with an easy touch…
Pb
Ok, so I’m late to the party on this one, but…
This is a policy speech about Iraq, right?
Catsy
Via various places, the single best commentary on Fred Thompson’s candidacy anywhere on the internets.
Krista
Sigh. Please tell me that this is not being used as emblematic of what women look for in their political leaders.
RSA
There’s a U.S. Congressman named ” Zach Wamp”? Who knew. No wonder we don’t get no respect.
HyperIon
He must be thinking of jello fruit salad, a staple of the south. The tricky part is adding the fruit cocktail at the right moment. Too soon and it falls to the bottom; too late and it floats on the top. What a insightful regional metaphor!
Rome Again
Of course it is, Krista. Just look at George Bush, he was elected because a bunch of crazy people thought they’d like to have a beer with him. A really stupid reason to elect a president, don’t you think?
Punchy
Fixed for Freddy T.
bud
If by Nextel (ne:Winston) Cup, you are describing, allegorically, the Southern states and a lot of the rest of America, then, yes, Fred probably would win against any of the front-running Dems.
But, I think that this much attention to a political contest which is a year and a third away is a sign of the degeneracy of America. The government has become so all encompassing that we now spend, literally, years arguing over who is going to run it next.
I certainly give Thomson credit for dragging his feet. If only the other “candidates” would do so…
ThymeZone
Enhanced for your pleasure.
Krista
Indeed. I can totally understand not wanting to vote for someone who acts as though they’re better than you. But I really can’t understand why people won’t vote for someone who is obviously smarter than them. I WANT our political leader to be smarter than me! Gad, when did being smart turn into a drawback?
cleek
Jell-O, Big Dance, horse racing, rock & rolling ? this guy needs to pick a fucking metaphor and stick with it.
Rome Again
When the same political party that likes to elect movie stars took over? And they complain that Hollywood is liberal?
ThymeZone
People want to vote for someone who makes them feel smart.
For the stupid people, that means not voting for actual smart people. Nothing makes a stupid person so inferior as being around a smart person.
Jimmmmm
I think I saw Wamp on MTP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBE2h8Gdmvc
Rome Again
Well, I’d rather not have brains that match those as the cashiers at Church’s Fried Chicken deciding international policy issues.
ThymeZone
Yes, and if a candidate is a movie star, then Article II of the Constitution is overruled.
ThymeZone
Hey, don’t be making fun of my job!
Tlaloc
“Gad, when did being smart turn into a drawback?”
anti-intellectualism has a huge history in america. In this century it has been vilified by the right (think “Ivory tower academician”) as well as being associated with the terrifying red threat of the slavering hordes of communists who were lining up along our borders to do bloody murder upon us.
Never forget that America was founded in great part by the religious freaks who were too religiously freaky to be tolerated by europe (no small feat). That simple fact makes so much of our history and modern situation clear and understandable.
Tlaloc
erp, should be “last century” since we kind of are in the twenty first century now.
jenniebee
Oh Psycheout?
Apparently, you have some competition.
Or cooperation. You guys should start your own wingnut circular linkages!
And then, of course, there must be a feud over some very, very serious and important piece of policy. Like maybe whether it’s ok for Brownback to wear a cashmere sweater, or would a real man of the people understand that cashmere is the demesne of the effete elite and eschew such things for the manly simplicity of mohair?
ThymeZone
Yes, and the United States of America was pretty much drawn up by people who did not want the new country dragged down by religious nuttery. Ergo, separation of church and state.
Rome Again
The actors and jesters are here
The stage is in darkness and clear
For raising the curtain and no-one’s quite certain
Whose play it is
How long ago, how long?
If only we had listened then
If we’d know just how right
We were going to be
For we dreamed a lot
And we schemed a lot
And we tried to sing of love before
The stage fell apart
If everyone was listening, you know
There’d be a chance that we could save the show
Who’ll be the last clown to bring the house down?
Oh no, please no, don’t let the curtain fall
Well, what is your costume today?
Who are the props in your play?
You’re acting apart which you thought
From the start was an honest one
Well, how do you plead?
An actor indeed! Go re-learn your lines
You don’t know what you’ve done
The final is begun:
If everyone was listening, you know
There’d be a chance that we could save the show
Who’ll be the last clown to bring the house down?
Oh no, please no, don’t let the curtain fall
Supertramp – If Everyone Was Listening
From: Crime of the Century
RSA
Occasionally I find myself arguing with conservatives about how smart or dumb Bush is. I’ve never run into a single person, though, who is willing to say, “Bush is smarter than me.” I’d like to be able to say that about the President; I’m willing to say that Clinton, for example, is smarter than me. (Actually, I think you have to go back pretty far to find a President smarter than Clinton.)
El Cruzado
Actually I’d think from Roosevelt to Nixon all were at least above average. After that, one side realized it was all about who got to be the prom queen and so Reagan and Bush 43rd.
Zifnab
Nixon was a genius. He was an evil genius, but he was still no one’s fool. I’d contend that Bush Sr. was as smart as Clinton, or at least he was as educated and as clever.
Otto Man
If only these idiots applied the same standard when selecting their doctors, bankers, and other professional service providers. We’d probably see their kind die off within a generation through natural selection.
But, no, for those things, they actually want the smart people with a mastery of the details. Leader of the free world? Not so much.
Tlaloc
“If only these idiots applied the same standard when selecting their doctors, bankers, and other professional service providers. We’d probably see their kind die off within a generation through natural selection.”
how about a new program: Buds for Puds.
We’ll provide the schlitz drinking retards to provide financial and medical advice for redstate yeehaws, probono (schlitz and trailers aren;t that expensive).
The Other Steve
Read this from Sullivan
demimondian
Ironically, if you want a really scary smart president, the smartest candidate since Nixon (and arguably since Jefferson) is running for the Democratic nomination this year. You can vote for her, if you want to do so.
Ripley
Hey, heeeeeyyyyy – I drink Schlitz now and again. Let’s not get carried away with our generalizations. ahem!
Back on topic – Fred Thompson is a cock tease (in the political sense, of course). I wonder what he’s going to do with all that money when he decides not to run. Maybe he’ll start an advocacy group like RightWing Actors for Truth or what have you.
Can you imagine the unadulterated Freak Out!!! we’d be experiencing if Al Gore were accepting contributions without declaring his candidacy? The Wingnuts would stroke out en masse.
Punchy
How is John posting this much while at YearlyKos? Must have some bitchin’ WiFi….
The Other Steve
Sniff, I didn’t go to YearlyKos this year. Probably would have been fun.
Switching jobs so much this year has left me with no vacation time.
Cain
John’s at YearlyKos? His journey to the dark side is complete. The dirty hippy.
cain
Cain
They should have extended an invitation to Bill O’Reilly.
cain
Jake
Oh yes, here’s the membership list!
Fred Thompson – President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer.
Chuck Norris – Security Officer, Towel Boy.
Regarding America’s on-going battle against intelligence, read Screwtape Proposes a Toast by C.S. Lewis (usually found at the back of The Screwtape Letters). Cee Lizzle knew whereof he spoke.
RSA
Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-intellectualism in American Life gives a good historical account, and though his story ends some time around 1960, it’s still worth reading. (For example, many Puritans had impeccable intellectual credentials back in the day, though you wouldn’t know it from those characterized as puritans these days.)
John S.
That is one fantastic book. I managed to score a rare first edition print of it on eBay a few years ago. I’ve always had the impression that Dick Cheney used it as a some sort of handbook…perhaps he fancied himself Wormwood.
Pixie
God his accent just IRRITATES the hell out of me…him and Bob Corker (our senator =/) I was born and raised and currently LIVE in TN, and I’ve never had that ridiculous accent….I think they really amp it up to court the redneck vote.
The Other Steve
I have this book on my shelf… started reading it last year, but it’s a bit dry.
jake
[Ignores sharp pangs of jealousy]
Really? Congratulations!
(Oooh. Teh envy. It burns.)
fecapult
I know I’m late, but I have to point out that when I run for President I’m hoping people don’t think it’s so stupid, since by that time I will probably already have had a beer with each of them…
lilgupi
The Winston Cup? Follow NASCAR much do we?
grumpy realist
I’m just hoping that the coy fan dance that Thompson is giving us will turn out to be Mario Cuomo, Redux.
(Now am really showing my age….)