Thompson already benefiting from soft bigotry of low expectations

[babylonsister]

Thompson already benefiting from soft bigotry of low expectations
Posted October 9th, 2007 at 1:31 pm



In less than three hours, Fred Thompson will take the stage in Dearborn, Mich., for his first unscripted debate in about a decade, and his first as a presidential candidate. Given that everyone has already heard the rest of the GOP field blather endlessly, all eyes will be on the former actor, lobbyist, and senator, whose daily gaffes and lazy style, have already deflated supporters’ hopes.

Fortunately for Thompson, though, several media personalities have already declared him the big winner of today’s debate. Roger Simon explains why.

All he has to do is not fall asleep. All he has to do is not throw up. All he has to do is not drool.

Has there ever been a major presidential candidate with lower expectations on the eve of his first debate than Fred Thompson?

Though he is second in the national polls, the reviews of his campaigning thus far have been savage. He has been portrayed as a goober, a hick and a doofus. No, I take that back. He has been portrayed as a lazy goober, hick and doofus. {…}

{A}ll Thompson has to do to win is to exceed (very low) expectations.

Following a pretty funny Saturday Night Live bit over the weekend, NBC’s Chick Todd the skit lowered “the expectation bar.” Todd added, I mean, if he just shows up and doesn’t drool, we’re going to say, ‘Well, you know, that’s a better performance than I thought.’”

In other words, the media is going to tell us that Thompson excelled, in part because the media expects him to stumble. Todd, Simon, and others have the luxury of establishing the narrative, setting the expectations, and deciding whether those expectations have been met — before the debate even happens.

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