December 28, 2007
Posted: 11:25 AM ET
Watch Thompson on CNN's American Morning Friday.

Watch Thompson on CNN's American Morning Friday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican Fred Thompson seems to be raising his expectations in Iowa, telling CNN Friday he would not be happy with a third place finish there.

"I would not be satisfied with third, quite frankly. I think we can do better than that…that's why they play the game," Thompson told CNN's John Roberts. "The pollsters and the experts were wrong in Iowa in 1980, and they were wrong in 1988, and they were wrong in 1994, and the numbers show that a large number of folks in Iowa have not made up their mind."

Most recent polls place Thompson a distant third in the Hawkeye State, behind Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. In a L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll released late Thursday, Thompson registered 10 percent among likely GOP caucus goers, compared to Huckabee's 36 percent and Romney's 28 percent.

Thompson is currently on a final campaign blitz of the state, although he recently pulled his television advertising there.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Filed under: Fred Thompson • Iowa • Mike Huckabee • Mitt Romney


Joshe2000   December 29th, 2007 4:15 pm ET

Fred Thompson unfortunately doesn't have the energy and resolve to win. His last minute effort will not be enough to help him. He may have SOME of the best policies, but we need someone that can articulate them and motivate others to follow him. I do not believe he has the ability to energized the American people to a all degree to follow him.

Steve   December 29th, 2007 8:08 am ET

I would Like to see Fred win. All the Rest of the Republican candidates are still more qualified and better than the Democratic ones

PW Va   December 29th, 2007 1:33 am ET

Fred…get ready to get real unhappy!!!

S Benn   December 29th, 2007 1:07 am ET

Fred Thompson got into the race at the right time and is going to surprise most of you,,,that is for sure. He has spelled out specifics on issues like no other candidate and gained respect and praise from conservative newspapers across the nation. Go to http://www.fred08.com and you will change your mind. Fred is in the race because grassroots conservatives approached him when we saw no good candidate and we begged him to run. He agreed because he knows he can make a difference in this great nation. He will secure our borders, save social security, strengthen our armed forces and build a strong economy through lower taxes and fair trade laws. While the other candidates have garbage in their past that is coming to light daily the only remarks you see about Fred are the vague ones like above my post. Go Fred! You are the true consistent conservative that this country is longing for and we appreciate you answering our call!

Amanda, Clinton, MD   December 28th, 2007 7:47 pm ET

sorry but the Thompson campaign is just wasting money that should be invested somewhere else!

curtis in WI   December 28th, 2007 7:14 pm ET

Won;t be happy with 3rd place? Considering that the last poll I saw had him in 5th place in IA, finishing third wouldn't be so bad.

Jackson Maxim   December 28th, 2007 4:20 pm ET

As President, I want a man who is uncompromising on his core beliefs.
I TRUST FRED to remain true to his principles.
Clear. Consistent. Conservative.

See also: Arrogant, lazy, and keeps a distance from potential supporters. Look at how much disdain he's shown for people in Iowa as of late, for instance. More than a few stories have come out about Thompson rarely coming out of his bus, refusing to walk in the snow, and being so straight he wouldn't even put on a fireman's hat a firefighter offered him for a free photo op. It's like he doesn't even want to be president.

And Clintonspeak? Are you kidding me? Looking at Paul, it's about as far from Clintonspeak as one gets. If anything, Thompson promotes Bushspeak.

Ben, Denver CO   December 28th, 2007 4:14 pm ET

Rhino,

I could not stop laughing at your post. I agree!

Derek   December 28th, 2007 3:23 pm ET

How will he feel about 4th or 5th…I am betting he finished behind Huckabee, Paul, Romeny, and McCain.

Bill, Streamwood, IL   December 28th, 2007 3:20 pm ET

Fred Thompson is setting his sights awfully high. Considering the way he has conducted his "campaign," he should consider third place a gift.

Jimmy, Des Moines   December 28th, 2007 3:11 pm ET

Interesting last sentence to the post, "he recently pulled his television advertising there." This was updated to CNN at 11:25 ET and I remember seeing this morning at Fred08.com that his new ad was going to be airing in Iowa until the 3rd. I assume that some "journalist" didn't do their due diligence, but very few have when it comes to the current race.

John Newell   December 28th, 2007 2:54 pm ET

Fred Thompson refers to the fact that the pollsters were wrong in 1980, 1988 and 1994. It confuses me why he references 1994 since presidential caucuses of the 90's were held in 1992 and 1996. Was he referring to some statewide election? Or does he just not know how frequently presidential elections are held. Do the math, Fred — 1988 plus 4 equals 1992.

Mike O   December 28th, 2007 2:52 pm ET

Predict all you want; after Jan 3rd we'll know. Fred is right that there are a LOT of undecideds in the GOP caucus goers right now. His last minute strategy HAS saved him from having to deal with the nitpicking sniping many of the other longer-running candidates are dealing with.

But here's a thought; if Fred does finish ahead of any of those who have been exhausting themselves running for over a year and spent many millions, what does that say about those candidates if a guy in a bus can show up in the last minute and bypass them? Fred may- or may not- be the smart one here; we'll see.

Hands down, he's got the policies that the majority of the GOP would agree with, as well as a level of consistency on them others do not. That's why I'm in Fred's corner.

Derek, Honolulu HI   December 28th, 2007 2:29 pm ET

I agree w/ above poster: Ron Paul will be third….sorry Freddie.

Deanne,KS   December 28th, 2007 2:23 pm ET

I think Fred has what it takes, he wasn't a late starter, everyone else started WAY to early, this has been going on for a year now & the election is still 11 months away.

Dan Toler   December 28th, 2007 2:10 pm ET

Thompson is hardly dead. If you're following the most recent polls, Huckabee is losing support as Republicans find out about his liberal tax record and his soft position on illegal immigrants when he was governor. Romney is focusing his efforts on New Hampshire right now in his battle with John McCain.

Let's not forget how the pundits wrote off John Kerry in 2004. He trailed in Iowa until the last couple of days before the caucuses.

Brad, Stockton, CA   December 28th, 2007 2:08 pm ET

"I think we can do better than that…that's why they play the game"

I know that at times it all seems like a bad joke, but Is running for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES just a game to Senator Thompson?

Les   December 28th, 2007 2:07 pm ET

I don't know about you Fred, but you surely look so wornout. You should stay late in bed, campaign trail is too rough for a man of your age.

Jeff Spangler, Arlington, VA   December 28th, 2007 1:29 pm ET

Like rats on a sinking ship, these also-ran-but-shouldn't-haves are bailing.

Francesca   December 28th, 2007 1:23 pm ET

Thompson suffers from a lack of original ideas and energy. He has failed to connect in a real way with voters. He would do best to drop out of the race to avoid embarrassing himself.

RobJ   December 28th, 2007 1:04 pm ET

Personally I, like so many others are coming to a decision based on only two things:

Taxes

Wars

Time to get us out of both problems. Name a candidate in the Republican Party who will do this in a strict conservative way. No pandering, no talking head, no pretty boy smile and no lies.

Dr. Ron Paul.

I see myself drawn to this candidate more everyday. My children too are drawn as they look at their options for the future of this country. As they tell me, dad you were a radical at our age. What happened? Guess that is why the polls are wrong, because they don't talk to the kids. They don't see the future as they do. I will not be blindly lead by media any longer. Sorry Fred but your just a media invention. I'll vote with the kids and bring back the Constitution of the United States of America.

JB T F ID   December 28th, 2007 12:59 pm ET

GOOD LUCK NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TOO SAY

Gary Gross   December 28th, 2007 12:59 pm ET

I couldn't care less about a candidate's campaign style. This isn't a contest to see who looks presidential. It's a time to examine candidates' credibility & their positions on the issues.

I've frequently said that Fred Thompson's positions, whether we're talking federalism, taxes, entitlement reform, foreign policy or judges to illegal immigration, is the gold standard.

If those issues are important to you, then Fred's the only horse in this race for you.

Todd C. Wilmington, DE   December 28th, 2007 12:59 pm ET

wait a minute, Fred Thompson is running for President???

Dave Diamond, Mont Vernon, NH   December 28th, 2007 12:58 pm ET

big mistake — with the field the way it is, he should be thrilled with third. unless he's looking to fold up his tent, that is.

Independent in IA   December 28th, 2007 12:46 pm ET

Poor Fred, dreaming again…..more likely he'll wind up in last place, right behind Giuliafia.

Lorenz, Queens, NY   December 28th, 2007 12:36 pm ET

Ron Paul will be third - sorry Tommy

Anna, Ithaca, NY   December 28th, 2007 12:30 pm ET

Fred who?

Paul, Tampa, FL   December 28th, 2007 12:30 pm ET

Get over it Fred, because third in Iowa is a gift for your lack of preparedness in this campaign season. Let's face it, pretending to be a district attorney just isn't sufficient for being the GOP nomination. Perhaps you should have had your manager lobby for a remake of Bedtime for Bonzo.

Allan Stewart   December 28th, 2007 12:16 pm ET

Fred Thompson's late entry and slow start was not a campaign strategy, it was indicative of the difficulty of the task he undertook. Most candidates started YEARS ago building their organizations. Fred Thompson did not. He was drafted by popular demand & had only a few months to get started. It is ironic that the liberal media and his opponents used his delayed entry to brand him as lazy and disinterested when no other candidate would have even considered mounting a campaign within such a short time frame.
Fred's campaign is up and running now. He spent most of this month in Iowa making up to 5 stops a day. It is unfortunate that the MSM's effort to dismiss Senator Thompson as a viable candidate has had an effect. It has certainly affected his finances. But Fred is out there talking to the people. If we can get them to look, they will clearly see that he has the drive, the energy, and the character to win.
Fred needs a strong enough showing in Iowa to generate the funding that will be needed for the upcoming contests. I'm betting he has the right stuff to win if only he can clear this first hurdle.
Here is man that has answered the call out his sense of duty and his love for our country. He is a true conservative not another RINO pretending to be something he is not. Do we want to dismiss him because he was not driven by personal ambition to plan for years how to capture the nomination? Don't we want candidates that say what they believe instead of saying only what we wanted to hear? All conservatives should want to keep Fred Thompson in the race. He sets the bar the others should try to reach. If you want honesty from your candidates, if you want candidates to stand on their principles instead of their marketing campaign, support Fred Thompson and send the message that honesty and character still count.
If Fred succeeds, it will change campaigns in the future – in a very good way. The caucus is less than a week away. With very little funding, Fred can clear this hurdle. Please help him NOW! Even small donations add up. FRED08.com

Chris Fischahs, Los Alamos, NM   December 28th, 2007 12:14 pm ET

Fred is really the only candidate who has detailed where he stands on the issues. The others tend to talk in Clintonspeak about what they believe, or what they say now is different than their record.

As President, I want a man who is uncompromising on his core beliefs.
I TRUST FRED to remain true to his principles.
Clear. Consistent. Conservative.
http://www.fred08.com

Scott, Toledo OH   December 28th, 2007 12:13 pm ET

Then he is really not going to be satisfied when he gets 5th behind Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain.

Rhino   December 28th, 2007 11:48 am ET

Let's face it - Fred's tired.
He didn't want to jump into this race to begin with, but his GOP-entrenched wife persuaded him to make a run. Anytime I've watched him "campaign" in Iowa, it seems to be more "cam-pain". He has zero energy, and while his voice and words - when prepared - are strong and comforting, his obvious lack of enthusiasm keep me from taking him seriously. I think Fred would much rather be spending his twilight years at home playing with his young children than having to confront the ails of a nation. This most recent stance is just the greasing of the rails for his trip home, bet on it.

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