Fred Thompson: Kill, Protect, Punch

So, I picked on Fred Thompson last week for having what looked like a fairly light campaign schedule and putting off his big Iowa push until this week. Today, he's slated to do one event in New Hampshire in the morning and three events in Iowa after that, so the push is

looking pretty stout. I'm still not sure if he's got long enough to make up ground before the Christmas holidays, but good on him.

And, outside of on-the-ground work in Iowa, Fred's been doing some seriously cool stuff to endear himself to conservatives. First, it was the anti-hand-raising revolution staged against Carolyn Washburn of the Des Moines Register. Well played.

Then there was the tough-guy "you want a piece of me?" apologies post.

After that, Allah pointed out a devilishly clever answer on the dopey AP survey question:

"What's your most treasured keepsake?"

Fred: "Trophy wife"

Next, he went on down the road of anti-McCainisms, poking a stick in the media at every opportunity.

AP: "What's your lazy day activity?"

Fred: "Campaigning."

And, he rounds out the hat trick today with this one:

AP: Who's your favorite 20th-century president?

Fred: Martin Sheen (who played Josiah Bartlett in "The West Wing")

Although most conservatives would probably argue for Dennis Haysbert, Fred's having fun with this and razzing the media at the same time. It's what conservatives wanted to see from the candidate from the beginning-- the wise cracking and the confident charm of a performer coupled with solid conservatism and the assist of some star power to win a general election.

He's planned more than 50 events for his Iowa push, and is trying to drain some evangelical support from Huck:

Thompson firmly believes he can play well with Evangelicals, sapping votes from their current favorite, Huckabee. He has been on the attack — trying to show holes in Huckabee's record both in press interviews and in a mailing that went out last week that accuses Huckabee of being weak on immigration.

"We've talked about immigration, we've talked about his record on taxes, we've talked about him wanting to lift the embargo against Castro and things like that and some of the stuff he switches his position on and some of the stuff he stays with," Thompson said.

He also had some pointed criticism of Romney. His campaign has labeled Romney a flip-flopper on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. When asked if the negativity could turn off Iowa voters, Thompson replied: "If you're supposed to go to the presidential elections without talking about the issues and where people's positions on issues that would be news to me."

In honor of the apparent change in gears in the Thompson camp, I'll do him a solid by posting Frank J's pretty awesome Fred Thompson Facts video. If you're not checking Frank's facts, please do every day. Fredhead or not, you'll love them. Here's a taste. Note the three-plank platform of the Fred campaign:

Fred Thompson: Kill, Protect, Punch

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