Early Signs of Trouble Ahead For Thompson
Republican non-Candidate Fred Thompson has yet to announce…but already he’s looking less formidable!
Washington Post, July 31st, Dan Balz
Can the wheels come off a wagon that hasn’t left the assembly line? That is the Jesuitical question for Fred Thompson’s campaign-in-the making as he reports to the IRS today that he raised approximately $3.4 million in the month of June. After a week of staff shakeups and a financial report that fell short of expectations Thompson’s people set for themselves, Republican strategists wonder whether the former Tennessee senator’s campaign is experiencing something far more worrisome than normal growing pains.
First the signs of trouble:
Money: While not shabby, the financial report suggests fundraising is far more difficult than Thompson and some of those around him may have anticipated. Veteran fundraisers all tell the same story: raising tens of millions of dollars for a presidential campaign takes organization, time, enthusiasm and a belief on the part of donor’s that they’re backing a winner. Any sign of weakness vastly complicates the hunt for money.
Polls: The good news for Thompson is that he has surged into second place in most polls. The bad news is that he is still well behind Rudy Giuliani in national polls and well behind Mitt Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire. The only place where he is rising to the top of the heap is in South Carolina.
Looked at another way, after several months of extraordinarily positive news, Thompson is roughly tied with John McCain in the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, though McCain has suffered through several months of terrible news.
Campaign organization: The man Thompson recruited to organize his campaign, Tom Collarmore, was forced out last week. At this point, it’s not clear who the campaign manager will be. Thompson’s wife Jeri has been intimately involved in campaign operations and, according to one strategist, was running staff meetings last week.

