This one is a must read. For those who do not know Victor David Hanson, he is probably the pre-eminent conservative writer on history, especially military history and the impacts of culture and wars on each other. Unlike George will, who is an effete, inside-the-belt-way snob, VDH knows his stuff.
I met Thompson this morning for breakfast in Palo Alto and was impressed mainly by his knowledge of the issues, and his calming attitude that what will come, will come. He came across as every bit up to the job, but without the overdrive and sometimes bothersome mania of traditional candidates. That may explain a lot of his appeal as well.
The Rest of the Story...
Thompson has an ongoing movie and television career that makes him an even better known candidate to young people in either party. And he is a character actor that has been typecast as grandfatherly, a worldly pro who joshes around and works with his more ardent and younger firebrands. His celebrity is not like Arnold’s or Jesse Ventura’s.
His folksy Tennessee drawl also serves to mask his conservatism in the manner of Reagan’s jocularism. Don’t underestimate the importance of that calculus in our modern therapeutic society. The “aw shucks” approach allows a conservative to keeper a lot quieter and carry a bigger stick.
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