Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 7:39:07 PM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Strong-to-Mixed Reviews for Thompson's Keynote

Posted Sep 3, 08 1:03 PM CDT in Opinion,  Politics 

(Newser) – Pundits from across the political spectrum were moved by Fred Thompson’s tribute to John McCain’s heroic military service. They differ, though, on how well Thompson sold McCain as the next president:

  • Thompson couldn’t have done better, Peter Wehner at the National Review writes: “Fred Thompson did his close friend and former colleague proud. He made the case for John McCain as well as it can be made.”

  • The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber found the bio talk irrelevant and oddly distant: “All the talk about duty, honor, valor—it's as though the presidency were a lifetime achievement award.”
  • Mickey Kaus of Slate listened to Thompson and heard a bad actor. “Thompson seemed to be a guy reading his lines,” he writes. "He's no Zell Miller. And I don't think he'll have the Zell-like effect the McCain people probably hoped for."
  • Time’s Mark Halperin thought Thompson hit all the right notes: “Folksy, big, broad, and populist—and the crowd loved it.”

Sources New Republic, National Review, Slate, Time

2 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Mac Bounces to 3-Point Lead Over Obama

    Sep 7, 08 5:36 PM CDT
    Mac Bounces to 3-Point Lead Over Obama John McCain is leading Barack Obama by 48% to 45% in the latest Gallup poll, McCain's highest level of support since early May, Politico reports. Both candidates earned an expected convention bounce, but McCain’s boost was more immediate. Obama was ahead 49% to 43% among registered voters before the Republican convention last week. More »

  • McCain's Image as Lackluster Speaker Intact

    Sep 5, 08 11:25 AM CDT
    McCain's Image as Lackluster Speaker Intact Last night was John McCain’s big moment at the Republican National Convention. Oratory hasn’t been his strong suit in the past. How were the reactions to his speech?

    • McCain bored Michael Tomasky at the UK Guardian, who wonders if he was baiting negative reviews to rile up his base: “I now suspect that the speech was intentionally awful.”
    More »

  • Klein: McCain More Valedictory Than Inspiring

    Sep 5, 08 9:44 AM CDT
    John McCain’s acceptance speech was remarkable, honorable, and sometimes moving, but also sounded like a valedictory, “more the end of a career than the beginning of a presidency,” writes Joe Klein of Time. McCain was short on new ideas—the policy section "was a half-hearted and unadventurous slog through the world of policy." But who but McCain would so comprehensively admit his party’s failures? More »

  • GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing

    Sep 5, 08 7:02 AM CDT
    GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing The Republican National Convention was so full of calls for change and vows to clean up Washington that it was almost easy to forget that the GOP has been in power for the last 8 years, writes Peter Baker in the New York Times. John McCain is seeking to distance himself from his party's recent record, and trying to seize the "change" mantra for himself.
    More »

  • McCain: 'Change Is Coming'

    Sep 4, 08 9:44 PM CDT
    McCain: 'Change Is Coming' John McCain accepted the Republican nomination tonight and promised that "change is coming," MSNBC reports. McCain stressed that he, not Barack Obama, can bridge party differences and end the "constant partisan rancor" in Washington. “Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed,” he said. "I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not." More »

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, of Tennessee speaks about Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in front a video image of McCain and his wife, Cindy, during the Republican National Convention...   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Former Sen. Fred Thompson, of Tennessee, gestures as he speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right boards his campaign charter with former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, Monday, June 2, 2008, at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly,...   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

John McCain • Fred Thompson • Republican National Convention • Mark Halperin


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Politics Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »