Newt on FDT

Drudge Report has the title of the article "Gringrich disses Fred Thompson...", but the article is from the Washington Post and called Ever the Speaker. It only has a couple of paragraphs on FDT as follows:

As for former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, expected to announce a run for the presidency this week, "I think he becomes the establishment alternative," Gingrich says. "I've been fond of Fred ever since 'The Hunt for Red October.' I think he was totally convincing as an admiral."

What about Thompson's reputation for being the opposite of a workaholic? "I don't think it's a matter of working all that hard and being all that intense if he can put together a fairly bold, Sarkozy-like program," Gingrich says, referring to the just-elected center-right president of France. "Fred is not Ronald Reagan, but he could be Dwight Eisenhower." But could he have organized D-Day? "No," Gingrich chuckles, "but Eisenhower couldn't have been in 'The Hunt for Red October.'"

I'm not sure that I agree with Drudge's analysis of what Newt is saying here. Though Newt is not heaping great amounts of praise on FDT, I don't read it as dissing him.

The most important comment is the one that Newt talks about FDT needing to put together a fairly bold, "Sarkozy-like program". I agree. At some point (i.e. after his formal entry into the race) FDT will start presenting his actual program. To this point FDT has been doing a good job layout out what his principles are--next is what those principles translate to regarding policy.