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While I was somewhat critical of Fred Thompson for timing the official announcement declaring his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination the day AFTER tonight’s Granite State GOP debate, I still think that there’s something to be said for running a non-conventional campaign in our present time. Given the length of time the present contest has already racked up, a case can be made that ordinary, non-politically orientated people might already be weary of the seemingly long presence of the existing aspirants. ("I’m Mitt Romney, and I approved this message.") There just might be an opening in the pack. People may be ready for a new face, and a new way of campaigning…
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Revealing that he brings more than a new name into the mix, the Thompson campaign has thrown a new twist into what has become a normal piece of Republican presidential campaigning here in New Hampshire: the "town meeting" style campaign event. You know the routine– the candidate comes to town, gives a stump speech, and then takes questions from the audience. It makes for interesting and lively exchanges at times, and is a piece of the nominating process that I have come to appreciate. The only problem is, if you can’t physically be in attendence, you don’t get to participate. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could ask a candidate a question, and not have to leave the comfort of your living room– or wherever your computer terminal happens to be?
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What if, all you had to do was come here to GraniteGrok and submit a question to Fred Thompson? Sorta like a "virtual" town hall meeting? If you think that’s a good idea, you’re in luck! GraniteGrok has been selected by the Thompson campaign to be among a few blogs that will be participating in a new type of candidate access and communication. Here’s how it works:
We’ve decided we’ll ask some blogs to solicit questions from readers, then have the blogger select the top 4-5 questions the blogger thinks should be answered by Thompson and pass those on to us. We’ll have Thompson answer, on video, as many of the questions as we possibly can. (we assume that will be most, if not all, of them).And while we’ll do this with some national blogs, as well, we particularly want to get New Hampshire blogs involved, so we can take questions from New Hampshire residents.
How about it, GraniteGrok readers? This is your opportunity to get involved. We need four to five really good questions to forward to Fred for answers. If you’re like me, intrigued but still unsure about Mr. Thompson, now’s to time to find out.
Either send me an email with your questions to doug(at)granitegrok(dot)com or put them in the comment section below. Hurry up because I will be sending them tomorrow morning. Don’t miss your chance to be part of a truly new kind of campaign!
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