Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote a column yesterday about how conservatives are looking for the next Reagan:

Paul Kengor, author of The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, says “Reagan was able to unify and uplift the party … (largely) through three essential dynamics that George W. Bush does not possess and which all contenders for 2008 and beyond will find frustratingly elusive: communication, personality and a single winning issue he pursued with tremendous success.”
Reagan’s magic was his skill for communication, the same communication George W. Bush, despite all his brave leadership on Iraq, lacks. As Kengor vents to me, he channels the frustrations of many conservative supporters of the Iraq war: “This administration seems almost afraid to respond to its harshest critics, as if fearful it will offend the New York Times. There seems to be a complete inability by the president’s staff to create helpful images for their president.”

Then at the end she makes this statement:

It’s great to know Reagan inspired everyone. But when everyone from Republican Mike Huckabee to Democrat Barack Obama is praising Reagan, the winner will be the candidate who embodies the best of Reagan’s character: perseverance, optimism, and authenticity.

Guess who her e-mailers thought could be the next Reagan:

I did this Reagan Resurrection piece and e-mailers overwhelmingly are saying “Fred Thompson.”

Of course! Must have been these guys 🙂
I for one think that if you are looking for a communicator, someone who could sell the importance of this war to the American people, then you need someone who is articulate and is committed to the war on terror. I believe that might be Thompson.
I believe that the greatest failure of Bush’s presidency is that he doesn’t push back against the criticisms of the Democrats and the MSM. He may have focus and determination but he is not very persuasive. Now, part of this isn’t his fault, the MSM hate him and do everything to undermine his presidency and it would be hard for him to get his message out anyway but when it does get out, it’s lacking because he isn’t engaging the criticism. He should be out there everyday telling the American public about the successes and failures of the war on terror. He should be selling this war and making news of it. But he doesn’t and now the right are frustrated and want someone who isn’t like Bush. Is it any wonder that we would try to find a president like the one who had the skills that Bush lacks?