ORLANDO — John McLaughlin, the pollster for Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign, almost jumped out of this chair with glee last night at the start of the Republican debate. And that was before his candidate had even gotten a chance to speak.
Watching with reporters in the media center, McLaughlin was ecstatic because Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace had just opened the debate by quoting Thompson’s recent belittling of the conservative credentials presented by his chief rivals. Taking turns reciting Thompson’s complaints about Rudy Giuliani, and then about Mitt Romney, Wallace ended each inquiry with the same question to both hopefuls: “Who is more conservative: you or Fred Thompson?”
After Giuliani and Romney were put on the defensive and gamely tried to spin their conservative records, Thompson took full advantage of his first chance to respond. Noting that Giuliani has supported federal funding for abortion, gun control and havens for illegal immigrants, Thompson said, “He sides with Hillary Clinton on each of those issues.”
That slam underscored the Thompson team’s main line of attack against Giuliani’s implied argument that his liberal social views would make him the more electable GOP nominee. “If we run as the male Hillary, we lose,” McLaughlin said, reaching for his portable e-mail device to compare notes with other happy Thompson aides.
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