Deconstructing the Plan to Smash Fred

A good sign from The Politico that Fred Thompson has the potential for some serious traction:

Democratic strategists say Thompson's populist style and show-biz allure could prove extremely appealing in a general election at a time when voters are so down on Washington. So the party has launched a preemptive campaign against him that includes a DNC fundraising e-mail branding Thompson, "The inside-outsider."

This means that the DNC has done some extensive internal polling, and they've got good data on red's strengths. His message resonates with voters who are in a strong anti-incumbency mode - thanks in part to the immigration debacle - and this cuts deeply into Hillary's electoral profile. She's the darling of the DNC, and her network there is vast.

So to deal with the threat, they've summoned the forces of opposition research, and developed a plan of talking points (Shouldn't they be "whispering points?") for Democratic pundits to begin to interject into any discussion where Fred looms. Once these themes have been developed, of course, they rely on their friends in the media to take the ball, under the auspices that these are legitimate "concerns that people have raised". From the article:

Another DNC research report sketches likely lines of attack on Thompson: "reliable supporter, defender of President Bush," "staunch supporter of Scooter Libby," "key role in Bush Supreme Court nominations," "already has a flip-flop problem," "ill-equipped for the campaign," "a thin Senate record, questions of 'work ethic', " "controversial legal clients may cause problems," "lobbying careers full of land mines."

Working to influence news coverage, the DNC also recently began circulating a "research document" with the headline, "MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF SEN. FRED DALTON THOMPSON (1994-2002)." Then the page is blank until the line, "Paid for by the Democratic National Committee."

Most of their counterparts are nowhere near this cagey. The Republicans are simply terrible at thinking several chess-moves ahead in the political game, developing a plan of attack, and executing it efficiently. And they're even worse at network-based activity at the grassroots level, fully exploiting the Internet to develop a message and reach voters. And this may make all of the difference in 2008.

Although as I write this, I see an email about Ohio 4 Fred, so maybe there's some efforts underway. And Thompson himself seems to "get it" ...