Built By Fred!

I don't know if it's because of his powerful words, who he spoke them to, or how he delivered them, but this speech given recently by Fred Thompson to The Policy Exchange in London had him conjuring up memories of Ronald Reagan for me.

And maybe that's because I want to see Reagan in him. Who knows. I don't think anyone can deny that Thompson is a strong speaker with a commanding presence. I think many would deny that he'll be any good in office. But I'd like to take that belief to task for a moment.

Both the audience, the tone, and the subject matter of this speech are, in my estimation, proof of the leadership and strategic skill found in Fred Thompson. Haystack over at Redstate does a fantastic job of pointing out significant parts of the speech, as well as explaining the significance for each. But I want to look at the overall effect of speaking the way he did to this specific audience.

What I think is the single greatest thing about this speech is the audience. Fred speaks to The Policy Exchange and it is as if he were speaking to Britain as a whole. This is a brilliant move. Before even formally announcing his candidacy, he's engaging Europe and diffusing one of the biggest talking points on the left side of American politics: "our reputation around the world". He uses his conservative principles in the message to accomplish two main goals:

1. Settle differences between the U.S. and Europe.
2. Make plain our intention to defend ourselves, and Europe, if need be.

He appears to be defining the planks for his foreign policy platform to a European audience. Not only that, but he also does it while holding true to the conservative position of not backing down in the face of terrorism. The long-term effect of such a strategy can only be bringing conservatives closer to him and giving liberals less to complain about.

In short, this is just another wonderful example of Fred being Fred! and why I support him for President. While the other guys (and gal) are out doing the usual stumping and sound bites and such, Fred! is engaging non-standard audiences. I think that the sum total of his efforts will be that one day the other candidates will look around and find themselves debating on a stage whose platforms were built by Fred!