NYT: On Stump, Low-Key Thompson Stirs Few Sparks: "something other than a dynamic presence"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Fred D. Thompson, on Tuesday in Fort Dodge, Iowa, is a low-key presence on the trail.

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By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: October 4, 2007

NEVADA, Iowa, Oct. 3 — Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred D. Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to “give my thoughts about some things.” Then he stood face to face with a silent audience.

“Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter. “Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.

But as Mr. Thompson campaigned in Iowa this week, he was something other than the dynamic presence that some in his party have been yearning for. Iowans saw a subdued, laconic candidate who spoke in a soft monotone, threw few elbows and displayed little drive to distinguish himself from his opponents.

Mr. Thompson told few jokes and, while an easygoing presence, did not appear to have much interest in the small talk that is a staple of retail campaigning. As he defined his candidacy, Mr. Thompson spoke in broad generalities about the conservative principles that he said had informed his political views — in particular, federalism and cutting government spending — and led him to run for president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/us/politics/04thompson.html