The Fred Thompson fear factor

Peter Brown:

When one political party tries to influence the other's presidential primary race the reasonable assumption is that someone is trying to stop the nomination of a candidate that party does not want to face in November.

That's why a Democrat-aligned group injecting itself into the Republican campaign by alleging that Fred Thompson lobbied for abortion rights is a pretty good indication the other side thinks he has serious potential.

Thompson has become a force in the GOP polls even though almost half of Republicans and more than half the rest of the electorate say they don't know enough about him to form an opinion.

In this case his Democratic foes are trying to define him negatively for GOP voters before he can make a good first impression.

That's why in the last few weeks we have seen a stream of stories that would seem to be aimed at derailing his candidacy. Some were clearly planted in the news media with information from partisans of other candidates or causes. Others may have arisen independently from a news media itching to vet Thompson.

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Thompson's candidacy has reshaped the campaign so much that even before he officially announced, adversaries were seeking to undermine his candidacy.

Most interesting - and perhaps most telling of his potential - was the effort by a Democrat-aligned abortion rights group to tarnish his credentials among social conservatives, who are a large part of the GOP primary electorate.

And don't forget it is the Democratic National Commitee -- not his GOP competitors -- that is suggesting the Federal Election Commission cite him for campaign law violations because he has allegedly been abusing his "testing the waters" committee to effectively run for president without having to disclose contributors and spending.

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Memory does not produce a similar case where an interest group tied to one of the major political parties sought so overtly to influence the debate and outcome of the other parties' nomination fight, especially before a candidate even formally announced.

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I suspect the Clinton war room is pushing these groups to move against Thompson. They are doing similar hit jobs on Rudy. For them it is never too soon to start the politics of personal destruction as they call it when it is used against them. Other Democrats call it swift boating after the attacks on John Kerry. Thompson has shown an ability to turn these attacks aside or use jujitsu to parry the opposition. He has also shown himself much more nuanced that the opposition would like when it is trying to define him. I still think Giuliani is a stronger candidate, but he has weaknesses with same groups that the Democrats are trying to drive away from Thompson.

The Politico notes the lack of effect from the attacks. "The sound of silence tells an interesting tale when it comes to Fred Thompson."