Fred Thompson Campaign, Sean Hannity Freedom Concert

PLEASING THE CROWD

Fred Drops By For A Quick Visit







Was Fred Thompson testing his crowd- pleasing potential yesterday?

If so, his surprise visit to Sean Hannity's "Freedom Concert" in Georgia should have more than exceeded expectations. Before 12,000 talk radio and country music lovers inside Gwinnett Arena, Thompson was treated to not one, but two standing ovations from the crowd, said a few words and even showed off an acting trick or two.

From Ben Smith at the Atlanta Journal- Constitution:

It wasn't a rock star's reception, but 12,000 talk radio fans on hand for the Republican's first public visit to Georgia as a possible presidential candidate treated Fred Thompson as a contender.

"Run, Fred Run!" many yelled as they gave the actor and former U.S. senator a standing ovation Tuesday night at Sean Hannity's "Freedom Concert" at the Gwinnett Arena.

Thompson didn't say whether he would run, but he told one group of Gwinnett businessmen to "keep your powder dry," prior to the concert.

"I think we may be able to do something good for this country," Thompson said.

[...]

Thompson's last-minute Georgia visit was launched after midnight Monday when the unannounced candidate told an aide that he would accept Hannity's invitation to attend the concert. The conservative Fox News talk show host made the offer to Thompson on Sunday afternoon, said Joel McElhannon, a staffer for Thompson's exploratory committee.

[...]

Dressed casually in a camel-colored jacket without a tie, Thompson spoke for eight minutes to the chamber group. The former "Law & Order" star focused on traditional conservative themes.

He never mentioned President Bush, the two major political parties or any of the Democratic or Republican candidates officially seeking the presidency by name.

"I think folks are for a limited government, limited by the delineated powers found in that Constitution," Thompson said. "I think they're also look for a competent government . . . they're also looking for a government strong enough to protect us."

"I think about the shenanigans that you're seeing in Washington, D.C., these days and I say do the opposite of what's going on up there," Thompson, said to enthusiatic applause from the chamber crowd.

The concert goers gave Thompson 30-second standing ovations on both ends of his four-minute speech.

"If you keep that up, I'm going to make a speech. Don't make me do it," Thompson, exclaimed, drawing laughs.

Clearly, we're getting an early taste of Thompson's strategy, one which will distance itself from the current GOP leadership in Washington. Given how things are going right now, that seems like a great idea.

At the same time, Thompson's last- minute decision to appear at the event proved to be an important PR coup both for his campaign and Hannity's concert series.


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