The Wall Street Journal today carried a report on a speech given by former Senator Fred Thompson. The article, authored by John Fund, was one of those "faint praise" tributes, of the type designed to ultimately denigrate the subject.
You can read it at http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010163&mod=RSS_Opinion_Journal&ojrss=frontpage.
Apart from the grammer mistakes, Mr. Fund makes several other mistakes -- such as assuming that Mr. Thompson is an novice doomed to mistakes and that Fred Barnes is a typical "conservative."
But his biggest mistake is assuming that a campaign run in a non-traditional manner cannot succeed.
The evidence is much to the contrary.
Ross Perot ran a potentially winning candidacy, from the stage offered by Larry King. He did it without a party and without the internet. Had he not self-destructed, it's not self-evident that he wouldn't have won. Akin to today, he ran as an outsider unaffected by the graft and insider mentality of Washington.
Of course, what we got from that deal was Clinton the first.
But there is no reason to ignore the lessons that Perot's candidacy should have taught:
First, a presidential campaign is a national media event, governed by primaries.
Second, getting out the vote is critical. If your base is unhappy and stays home, an inspirational third party candidate can sneak in. But if your base is motivated, that third party candidate has no chance.
Third, money matters only if the media isn't with you. If the media turns on you, as it did with Howard Dean, you need a fortune. It turned on Perot, as it has turned on McCain. But if it is not given enough time, it can't turn that fast. Hence, entering late is actually an advantage.
Howard Dean figured this out when he ran for president, distilling it into an internet-based campaign.
Since then, candidates from Obama to Hillary have done the net to raise money.
But none of them have figured it out, because they are neither imaginative or modern.
The essence of the internet is interactivity.
None of the Democrat candidates want to answer questions.
If Thompson does, the web is his.
As is the Presidency.
