On Wanting To Be President

Loading

Todd Chelf, the man who asked that question a few days ago in which CNN and others misquoted and/or did not provide the context of Fred’s answer about wanting to be President, has written his thoughts on the question and answer:

The answer was exactly what I hope it would. It was a great answer.
At points during the answer I was ashamed I had asked the question. I
knew the answer.  Do I really want to support a candidate who lives to
be President?  Is that type of candidate really interested in serving
the nation or serving his own self-interest? Sen. Thompson positioned
himself as willing to serve, not for an enlarged ego, but out of a deep
desire to serve his nation.
He has desire to make our nation better for
his children and grandchildren. Far from a slick Branson like
presentation, he presented himself as a dedicated patriot willing to
serve if we, the American people, were willing to have him do so. He
refuses to be a President under false pretenses.
He is not leading us
into a shotgun relationship. He understands that under the founder’s
concept of the social contract, both parties must be fully aware of the
terms of the contract when entering into the agreement. If the American
people do not want him to be President, he is not going to trick us
into agreeing to him.
As I said, the answer was refreshing. It was a
great answer.

I went and saw Gov. Romney that night. Do not
misunderstand me; if Gov. Romney is the Republican nominee for
President, I will support him. His presentation was an event. His hair
and teeth were perfect. He smiled.  He pressed the flesh. His wife
glowed as she stood next to him. Make no mistake; Gov. Romney wants to
be President of the United States. Maybe that is why I do not trust
him. In the end, Sen. Thompson was right, the next President should be
someone who wants to serve the nation, not someone who wants to be
President.
Far from the press coverage that stated Sen. Thompson does
not have the desire to be President, his desire is to serve the
American people.
He believes the best way to do that is to be
President. If he is not elected President, he will not be disappointed.
He will find some other way to serve the American people, just like he
has throughout his career. After listening to Sen. Thompson and
thinking about what he said, I can only conclude he is the best
candidate for the job.

Todd puts it eloquently.  It’s refreshing to see a candidate like this.  A man who just tells it like it is, who puts out 17 minute videos of why he thinks like he does and why he would be the best man to serve this country as President, a man who won’t kowtow to the media or the politico’s who want him to jump through hoops. 

The question is then, do the American people want a man who desires to serve this country or do they want a man who wants to be President?

UPDATE

Ace at Ace of Spades HQ on Fred’s answer:

It was in fact a pretty good answer, spinning a frequent knock on him
into an actual reason to vote for him. Annoying, then, for the media —
including many Republican-leaning members of the pundit class — to
have spun a good answer as somehow being a catastrophic admission of a fatal flaw.

Objectively, no serious analyst or commentator can say Fred’s answer
was anything short of brilliant. In fact, it was perhaps the greatest
watershed political statement since the Magna Carta.

Well, that’s just silly. But anyone spinning this answer as an
admission that Thompson lacks “fire in the belly” obviously didn’t read
the three or four paragraphs of the answer.

I can see why they didn’t bother, though. After all, it’s not like their jobs include reading three paragraphs before making sharp judgments about those paragraphs. They’re professional writers and commentators, not professional readers, after all.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Fred Thompson is a good man and would make a fine president. My first choice is Romney, but Thompson and McCain tie for second. Guiliani is third, with Huckabee a (very) distant fourth.

My big concern with Thompson, as with McCain, is that neither has any executive experience. Being a Senator doesn’t really give you that. Running a White House is supremely difficult, as we’ve seen Bush make a whole number of mistakes

Romney was Governor, as was GWB. Bush made mistakes but has made some outstanding decisions also. Don’t think any President has ever been mistake free.

My problem with Mitt is his flip-flopping. He seems fake and changes the color of his skin for his personal ambition. Not good imo.

But if push came to shove I would vote for him over any Democrat, wouldn’t be happy but its better then a Dem.