Monday, October 09, 2006

Opinion: Should Tommy Thompson run for president?

7 comments:

Dain said...

I'd have to say no. He doesn't have anything like the name-reconition enjoyed by other canidates. While this could be used as an advantage, I don't see him getting passed the primaries.

KerryW said...

I say, if Tommy Thompson wants to run for president, then let him. Sure he isn't as well known as some are but it is up to him and his supporters to get his name out there. It might actually be better if people are given a new face to consider for the election. Especially if they can't decide who they want to vote for. A fresh face might be nice. If they haven't heard of him it must mean that he hasn't sent teenagers inappropriate text messages or did something else illegal or he just hasn't been caught yet. I think he should run and just get his name out there. Even if he doesn't get past the primaries, he'll still have his name in people's minds.

Megan B said...

Ok, just to make it more interesting I will disagree with all of the above, and argue that I think that Thompson should run for president in ’08, not just based on his own decision, but for the good of the GOP. I think that his fresh face, to many who are not from Wisconsin, may help the GOP. This may be one new creative way the GOP could use to combat the complaints of many, who criticize the current Bush Administration. Thompson could argue that although he did sign on in the early few years, with the Bush Administration that many of the major issues regarding ethics came after he left, which may cause people to connect him with the good behavior. Thompson could also show people he is a strong enough leader by pointing out the work he did after 9-11 to work to prevent a bioterrorism attack. Thompson could also show he was/is a strong well liked leader with his record here in Wisconsin, for being elected to be the governor from 1987 to 2001 which was an unprecedented four terms. Thompson also showed political power here in Wisconsin by getting the state legislature to pass some of his initiatives on welfare reform and school choice programs. He can also showcase his foreign relation abilities with his leadership role in the delegation that visited China, during his stewardship as governor. Many average citizens may begin to see national politics as a bureaucracy and want someone new who has more of a “small town” or for that matter a “small state” feel, as opposed to what many may find to be representatives that feel they are better than those they represent. Although Thompson may not have quite as much name recognition as some other candidate, it should be remembered that Thompson was on Bob Dole’s “short list” of possible running mates during the ’96 election. I do think Thompson may have less name recognition than some other candidates, but if he didn’t have some then why would newspapers even in Detroit, like the Detroit Free Press want exclusive interviews with him. In that interview with the Detroit Free Press, Thompson shared he was considering forming an “exploratory committee” to run for the presidency in ’08. Therefore (at least in this argument) I feel that Thompson should not only run for his own values, but to help his party and keep the GOP from losing control.

BrandonSh said...

I agree that it would be good for him to get his name out there, but I also agree that I cannot see him getting past the primaries. He just isn't a well known guy. Like Kerry said, at least he isn't involved in the lastest Washington scandals, but going along with Trevor, his opinions aren't strong enough on the hot button issues this time around. I don't see the harm in running, but Thompson definately shouldn't get his hopes up.

tonileep said...

I agree that Tommy Thompson isn't a very well-known candidate he is only well-known in Wisconsin and his opinions about the war may not get him elected but I think he still may run for president. Even though he would have to campaign a lot in order to get his opinions and beliefs out to the public and he would have to raise a considerable amount of money to do so. However, I think that Tommy Thompson was a great governor for Wisconsin and I would personally would like to see what he could do if he became president. I think that he would make a good president and maybe a face fresh in office is a good thing. Even though people don't necessary agree with him about the opinions on the war, he did an excellent job after 9-11 and gained an extreme amount of recognization and praise for the hard work and effort that he put in. All and all, I think Tommy Thompson should run.

BrandonSh said...

True, he did a good job in Wisconsin and as a Bush official, but I'm from Wisconsin and even I don't know his viewpoint on a lot of main issues for the coming election. If he does run he may gets votes based on the fact that he did a good job in previous offices. But I highly doubt that alone will get him the presidency. Again, I don't see the problem with Thompson running. It is always good to get your name out there. But I don't think he could win. Trevor's comment about Frosty the Snowman may apply to this situation.

Megan B said...

Since I do not want to wait for another question to be posted, I created my own, again. The question was inspired by New York Times article titled China May Press North Koreans. The questions are: Do you think the Chinese will reduce the oil they send to North Korea, and how do you think the North Koreans would respond to a decreased supply of lower priced oil from China? If the response would be violent who would the violence be directed towards?

I think that both the North Korean and the Chinese are trying to play diplomatic games with each other. The Chinese delegation that was sent to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Il-Jong wanted to show China was ready to decrease the supply of oil they would send to North Korea, where Kim Il-Jong was probably trying to convince the Chinese that he was getting ready to go back to multilateral talks, to persuade the Chinese from imposing any of their own sanctions. I agree with the anonymous senior international relations specialist who feels that Mr. Kim is trying to play the U.S. against the Chinese. If the Chinese try to see though what I think are the lies and deceptions they are show by Mr. Kim, the Chinese will take a stronger position against the North Koreans and start to impose their own sanctions. Secretary of State Rice’s trip to Beijing is quite obviously to keep the Chinese on the same side as the U.S. and to try to persuade the Chinese to take action. I think that the U.S. will win this battle of influence and keep China on our side. In my opinion the Chinese will in fact impose their own form of sanctions on North Korea. The Chinese reduction of oil would further hurt the already failing economy of North Korea, and anger many of the residence. Thus I believe that Mr. Kim would respond with rage, towards the Chinese and primarily the U.S., for backing the Chinese, and since they seem to always find a way to describe any problem as being the fault of the U.S.