With hostilities mounting between Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Iowa's Republican front-runner in polls, Thompson hopes each will tear the other down enough to clear the way for him to emerge as the conservative favorite.
In Mason City, he told the audience of several dozen that the 2008 election would come down to beating back attacks on conservative principles.
Those principles are "under assault from a left-wing, big-government, high-taxing, weak-on-national-defense Democratic Party that's just salivating now to get back the reins of power so that they can take us down the road of a welfare state, where the government turns out to be not much more than an agency to transfer money from one group of folks to another," he said.
The 65-year-old's grandfatherly style, however, remains a challenge.
"I don't think he's got the fire," said Republican Earlene Nordstrom, a retired dry cleaner from Fort Dodge who reported admiring Thompson but leaning toward Romney.
At the Music Man Square museum and community center -- where 76 trombones are displayed to commemorate hometown boy Meredith Willson's Broadway musical -- Thompson's speech slowed to a crawl after he warned that America was "one successful terrorist plot away from nuclear disaster."
"I've had the opportunity to travel around the world, meet with foreign leaders, both friends and enemies, in places like China and Russia and Afghanistan," he said. He named more places in a soft voice, his clip-on microphone broadcasting loud breaths as he paused after each one: "South America." "Chile." "Ecuador." "Panama." He finished by mentioning Russia a second time.
As for the frequent commentary on his vitality, Thompson addressed it unprompted in his Mason City speech. He recalled his first race for Senate in 1994, which he won: "Some of the commentators were saying about me then what they're saying about me now: 'He's a little too laid-back,' 'We're not sure he's personally ambitious enough' and things like that. Well, stay tuned, boys. Stay tuned."
Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen wrote last week that Thompson might exceed expectations in Iowa, noting his endorsement by U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).
"It sends a powerful signal," he wrote, "from one of Iowa's most conservative leaders to others on the right around the state: We've now got a horse we can ride."
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michael.finnegan@latimes.com
