Thompson Campaign Press Release - What the Media is Saying About Fred Thompson's Tour Through Florida

Mclean, VA - Fred Thompson today concludes his three day tour through Florida and the reviews are in:

"Thompson Steals the Show." (Headline, St. Petersburg Times, September 15, 2007)

"1,500 Turn Out to Greet Thompson in Cape (Headline, News-Press, September 15, 2007)

"A lot of political pros say it's too late to mount a strong presidential campaign when so many candidates have been at full steam for months. But apparently they haven't convinced the 1,000 people who showed up to cheer Fred Thompson in the Villages on Thursday." (St. Petersburg Times, September 14, 2007)

"So thick were the crowds as he worked both exhibition halls at the show that he did not have time for a speech at the end... "(Lakeland Ledger, September 14, 2007)

"About 200 workers and stay-at-home moms in downtown Jacksonville on a Thursday morning, a thousand or so retirees mid-day at The Villages retirement mecca in central Florida, and 300 more suburbanites down the road at the Disney-created community of Celebration near Orlando that night. The pattern was much the same Friday, with crowds, oblivious to the searing heat, thronging around Thompson, hoping for handshakes, autographs or just a close glimpse at the object of their affection." (Politico, September 15, 2007)

"More than 300 supporters turned out at the entrance to The Lakeland Center and others inside the gun show, including vendors, stopped to shake hands or yelled 'Good luck,' 'All the way Fred,' or 'We need you, fella,' as he passed by." (Lakeland Ledger, September 14, 2007)

"Following Thompson on his two-bus caravan as he systematically hits most of this monster of a state's major media markets, the hunger is evident." (Politico, September 15, 2007)

"Rudy Giuliani's top man in Florida sold out Friday's GOP dinner, but it was White House hopeful Fred Thompson who stole the show." (St. Petersburg Times, September 15, 2007)

"Bates was among hundreds of Villages residents waiting in the blasting sun's 91-degree heat Thursday afternoon to hear from Thompson. By the way they called him 'Fred,' it was hard to tell he had officially announced his presidential campaign only a week earlier." (Orlando Sentinel, September 13, 2007)

"Evoking a down-home southern feel at his Cape Coral stop on the campaign trail, presidential candidate Fred Thompson was welcomed by a crowd of about 1,500 at a sweltering Jaycee Park on Friday as a twangy George Strait song blared from the speakers" ( Palm Beach News-Press, September 15, 2007)

"Nick Jones, a retiree in the Villages sprawling Central Florida development, said most of his friends in the Republican club have been unenthusiastic all year. 'Then Fred comes along and it's like a ray of sunshine,' said Jones, standing in the shade of Thompson's campaign bus. 'In just two weeks he's gained momentum like I've never heard of in my life, and I think it's really because people see he's got core values.'" (St. Petersburg Times, September 14, 2007)

"Thompson appears to represent the closest thing to that combination of conservative principles and just-folks style for which Republicans have demonstrated a fancy." (Politico, September 15, 2007)

"To many GOP primary voters, Fred Thompson is the guy they want to be Mr. Right. He looks the part, sound it and is, most of the time, saying all the right things to win their hearts. To a party that has been looking for the right suitor for the better part of a year, Thompson appears to represent the closest thing to that combination of conservative principles and just-folks style for which Republicans have demonstrated a fancy." (Politico, September 15, 2007)

"Conversations with Floridians at every Thompson stop found them coming back to the Tennessean's down-home demeanor. 'He didn't seem like a smooth talker,' said Rex Wagner, a cabinet maker in Jacksonville. 'He talks in a style that everybody can understand,' observed Phil O'Donnell, 'just lays it on the line.' To these Republicans, Thompson's syrupy-stump style is endearing." (Politico, September 15, 2007)