Word: thompsons
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...compared to front-runner John McCain, an Arizona Senator who has an 82% rating. He understood that unwavering conservatism was his best bet with voters and even blared it from the side of his campaign bus: "The Clear Conservative Choice: Hands Down!" But from Sept. 5 until today, when Thompson announced he was ending his candidacy, he was plagued with complaints that he didn't seem to want the presidency enough - or at least not enough to actually campaign...
...withdrawal announcement was characteristically short and low in energy, just three sentences long: "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States," Thompson said in an e-mailed statement. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people...
...interview with TIME shortly before the Iowa caucus, Thompson spoke of his long odds in the state and reminisced about his first Senate race in 1994, noting how his last-minute zigzagging across Tennessee took him from underdog to winner. "It's the way we campaigned in Tennessee, where we went from 20 points behind to 20 points ahead all in 20 days," Thompson said, adding that he planned to deploy the same kind of "focus campaigning" in Iowa...
...course, that interview was conducted by telephone. Thompson was still at home in suburban Virginia. That same weekend a reporter spotted him shopping with his wife at Neiman Marcus. And while he eventually did make it to Iowa and doggedly crisscrossed the state, a few focused weeks couldn't upend the months of legwork and retail politicking done by his rivals...
...Besides a lack of energy, Thompson was plagued by tactical missteps out of the gate. He had to defend his stance on abortion after the Los Angeles Times reported that, during his time as a lobbyist, he'd done work for a pro-choice group. During a stop in Florida his seeming ignorance over a controversial proposal to allow oil and gas exploration in the Everglades earned him criticism. And while the rest of the G.O.P. field ran on a platform of 'I'll keep you safe, I'll cut your taxes and I'll overturn Roe v. Wade' (rotate...