Friday Look: Reflecting on Fred Thompson

Now that Fred Thompson has officially withdrawn his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination; we can take some time to seriously reflect on the impact his candidacy. While much of the focus on Thompson´s withdrawal has been looking forward with speculation, this week´s Friday Look will instead look backwards at the lessons and groundbreaking strategies that the Thompson campaign employed; even if he was not ultimately successful in his quest for the Presidency.

From the very beginning Thompson asserted that he was going run "a different kind of campaign" and was going to do things his way. And he did.

His announcement strategy was the best in recent memory and gave a new meaning to earned media. It included a draft movement and groundswell of support unseen since Dwight D. Eisenhower. He had a unique appeal that had not been seen since Ronald Reagan. As he "mulled" a decision to run for President, his poll numbers kept rising. The buzz kept building.

As his campaign geared up, Thompson appeared on national news shows with more regularity than the candidates who were already in the race and looked and sounded Presidential in his public appearances. He appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno twice; and on his second visit to the set, made his official entrance into the race. That announcement happened to coincide with one of the Republican debates, and the campaign aired an ad during that debate´s commercial break with Thompson announcing his candidacy and directing viewers to his website. The campaign effectively soaked up the media coverage of the debate; and his campaign hit the ground running.

The Thompson campaign ran the best New Media operation making full use of his acting skills and setting what will become standard practice for future campaigns. New Media refers to anything Internet related; and includes blogging and online video.

He filmed a made for New Media clip that criticized Michael Moore for wanting a Cuban-style health care system in the United States, something Moore asserted in his "documentary" Sicko. It included Thompson smoking a Cuban cigar and advising Moore to consider checking into an insane asylum. He also filmed his 15-minute announcement speech posted on his website that spoke directly to voters outlining his background, his personal and political philosophy, and his vision for the country.

Thompson brought, in addition to the pool of reports who tagged along, his own spokesman and camera everywhere he went. His spokesman would provide periodic reports of the day´s events and clips from the campaign trail which were posted on the official campaign blog. It allowed readers and supporters from all across the country to visit the website and get a behind the scenes look at what was happening on the campaign trail. It also allowed them to capture priceless moments such as the snowball fight in Iowa and the event in South Carolina that got so big that the fire marshal had to shut them down.

Unfortunately for the Thompson campaign, they were just ahead of their time. Once Thompson was officially in, he vaulted to the top tier. But as he took to the campaign trail, it appeared that his supporters were more excited about him making the run than he was. Sure he "would have liked" to be President (to quote him from the Tonight Show), but he was not willing to work for it. He raised far less money than everyone thought he could, and his campaign began to stall.

Thompson ended his campaign with a press release and statement. His way. No public appearance, no grandstanding. Just back to the quiet life of being an actor.