Was Frederick Too Cute?

As in too cute for his own good.  

As Adam B pointed out last week, the timing of his "announcement," scheduled for 12:01 a.m. on September 6th, had the convenient added bonus of letting him skip filing FEC campaign finance reports until Jan 31, 2007, after several of the GOP primaries.  

At 11:50 p.m. EST, on September 5, 2007, Fred's announcement was up and live.  "My friends I come to you today to tell you that I intend to run for president..."

Ten minutes early.  Maybe more.  

As of 8:52 p.m. Lahdee had an article up highlighting the New York Times story on his announcement.

As of 7:57 p.m., it was in the Politico.

And never mind the fact that he announced his intention to announce last week.

Skipping the FEC reports, if that was in fact his goal, required him not to officially announce until September 6th.  But it's still September 5th as I write this, and he's already announced.

(I'm racing against the clock to get this posted before 12 a.m., but if you want the details of why he had to wait until September 6th to avoid FEC reports, check out Adam B's diary.

Does it matter?  Is there an election lawyer out there reading this who can tell me why he can still "officially" start running on the 6th even though he announced on the 5th?  Or is this all too cute by half?

UPDATE:  I changed the headline to make it a question, as that amused me more.

Also, I wanted to get this published before 11:59 p.m. just to show that all this info was available on Sept. 5th, and that you didn't have to wait until the 6th to read it.  But although I suggest you read Adam B.'s diary from last week, I'd like to include the actual regulatory reason why he needed to wait until the 6th for his formal announcement:

It's an interesting date he's chosen -- one day after a big GOP debate in New Hampshire, so why, you might wonder, would he skip it?

Follow the math and the regulatory hopscotch:

From the date of the formal announcement, Thompson has 15 days to declare his candidacy officially with the Federal Election Commision.  Takes us to September 21, 2007.
From that date, Thompson has 10 more days for his official campaign committee to register with the FEC.  Takes us to October 1, 2007.
And what's so special about October 1?  It's the start of a new FEC reporting quarter.  
By delaying the filing of his organizational papers until books have closed on the third quarter of 2007, Thompson arguably will not have to file any disclosure reports with the FEC until January 31, 2008, after the Republican primaries/caucuses in WY, IA, NH, NV, FL and Lord knows who else at this point.

Thoughts?  Does it matter?  Will voters care?  Will the FEC even notice?

•  Never posted a tip jar before...

  by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 08:56:27 PM PDT

  •  I will say that he is not cute

    by half, or even a quarter.  President Duck?  Warmest regards, Doc.

    by Translator on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 10:35:19 PM PDT

•  Also,

  Leno tapes in the afternoon.  Sure it airs on TV at 11:35pm (which allows THompson to go live on air at 12:01am), but it tapes in the friggen afternoon, which means he announced on September 5.

  by pontificator on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 08:58:16 PM PDT

  •  another good point

    just because it wasn't aired on the east coast until after midnight, how does that negate the live audience he announced it to in LA on the 5th?

    by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:04:34 PM PDT

    •  Wanna know why he will get away with it...

      he said he intends to run for president, not that he actually will. Just like Craig said he intends to resign, but might actually not. That's just a thought, what do you guys think?

      by bigpappa10834 on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:09:13 PM PDT

      •  maybe

        I almost hesitated to waste the electrons on this diary.  I figured that since the guy raised $5 million $3 million $2 million (oh wait, we won't know how much he raised because he timed his announcement to avoid filing campaign finance reports) he must have top lawyers to argue why his announcement-of-his-intention-to-announce wasn't a real announcement.

        But if you were trying to spin him as this folksy TV prosecutor, instead of as a Washington lawyer and lobbyist, would you even go down that road?

        by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:15:02 PM PDT

        •  Knowing his audience

          The people that buy the folksly TV prosecutir in his red truck won't care a whit about the campaign laws he might be pissing on to get ahead.

          by brouski on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:25:05 PM PDT

          •  Wingnuts will actually applaud such law breaking

            They are only strong advocates of law-and-order (not the teevee show) when it affects others.

            by YoyogiBear on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:42:44 PM PDT

          •  What we need to do

            It occurred to me while watching rich attorney/lobbyist Fred Thompson try that folksie "red pick-up truck" thing what all of us need to make a mission -- and if anyone has any suggestions how we can work to achieve this, throw 'em out. We need to work to put out the narrative about Fred's rental prop pickup truck and work hard to make it stick, make it as much a staple of columns and pundit's chit-chat and late-night monologues as John Edwards' haircut and John Kerry's wind-surfing and Al Gore claimnig to have invented the internet. We need to combine our energies and make this claim the lie that wreck his cmapaign because he made it clear he IS going to try to rely on that aw-shucks folksiness. We need to blow it up. How do we do this, given that the mainstream media is devoted to protecting Republican candidates' images and destroying Democrats'?

            by anastasia p on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:45:29 PM PDT

    •  If someone presses the point...

      this might become an interesting test case as to how today's media affects the federal campaigning process.

      I'm not sure I see it the same as you, but it's an interesting question.

      Obviously the announcement was meant to be broadcast nationally after midnight.  You're saying that doesn't fly cause of the studio audience?  What if the audience hasn't been there?  Just Jay and the crew of the crew?  What if he had announced to Joan Embry and the lady with a yam shaped like Bob Hope in the green room five minutes to being on stage?

      Are there definitions and standards that define what a "campaign announcement" must entail?

      by brouski on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:14:03 PM PDT

      •  It's kind of a law school exam question

        if they teach election law in law school, anyway.

        I honestly don't know if it matters, but of course there is also the old "perception is reality" idea.  

        I have a feeling this probably hasn't been tested before.  I just can't imagine that you'd want to risk this being a story that would develop around your campaign.  Why not just wait another 24 hours and not get all cutesy?  Did they miss it?  Did they think nobody would notice or care?  

        Am I a complete idiot? (I'm smart enough not to discount that possibility!  ;)

        by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:19:45 PM PDT

        •  I'm in Campaign Finance Law here in Law School

          and I will see if I can ask about all of this in our next class (Friday).

          by AUBoy2007 on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:24:44 PM PDT

          •  thanks

            I'd love to be there for that kind of discussion.  Just like me to get all worked up about something as arguably pedantic as this.

            If you get a chance to post a diary or comment about the discussion I'd love to hear what people think.

            by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:30:39 PM PDT

  •  according to the politco article

    it went like this:

    At 7:57 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for broadcast later in the evening, Fred Thompson finally said: "I'm running for president of the United States.

    by dougymi on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:17:43 PM PDT

•  I doubt anything will come of it.

  His whole candidacy is a joke.

  by AUBoy2007 on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:00:56 PM PDT

  •  Still, we need to work hard

    to MAKE him a joke. Remember: the red pickup truck was a rental prop. Pass it on.

    by anastasia p on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:47:07 PM PDT

    •  We don't have to work hard.

      just circulate a picture of him drooling.  Campaign is cooked.

      by Yoshi En Son on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 11:18:49 PM PDT

•  I didn't watch it

  Was the applause really thunderous like the drudge re Politico said?  The NYT didn't say anything about thunderous. They just said there was some applause. The drudge rep Politico said THUNDEROUS!  I wonder who the drudge, oh you get it Politico will be favoring this cycle?

  by dougymi on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:10:53 PM PDT

  •  BTW that article on the politico

    was written by mike allen. He's of the chris matthews man-crush school.  He's definitely going to be influenced by the smell of old leather and pipe smoke like matthews.  Get ready for some really GUSHY writing from the smitten mike allen.  A regular harlequin romance novel for the political season.

    by dougymi on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:14:17 PM PDT

•  He is too cute only for

  Larry Craig.

  by agnostic on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:17:38 PM PDT

•  Announcement came at 11:59 pm

  According to my TIVO.

  I know this is nitpicky.  But if you try to time your announcement for 12:01 a.m. for legalistic reasons, don't you deserve to be nitpicked?

  Looking at the video, I don't know about thunderous applause, but it was definitely enthusiastic.  I noticed that Jay clapped for him as well.

  Anyway, try filing a lawsuit at one minute past the statute of limitations and see how far the "oh, that's being nitpicky" argument would get you.

  by William S Martin on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:26:57 PM PDT

  •  Yeah, the audience was way more excited

    that there was any reason to be. And Jay Leno gets on my nerves with his groupie-like star worship. I'm sorry but we absolutely need to get over the idea that a smooth-talking actor is a great candidate. The country can't afford it anymore.

    by anastasia p on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 09:49:23 PM PDT

  •  It was 12:59 out in the Atlantic Ocean

    Does that count? :)

    by BlueEngineerInOhio on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 10:32:01 PM PDT

•  I say "To Hell with Leno"

  forever.  I never liked him since he showed the band the sack, and to support this useless mass of flesh is just too much.  I will never, ever watch Leno again (not that I have much, anyway) and pledge to change the channel if the news folks show him.  Screw Jay Leno!  Regards, Doc.

  by Translator on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 10:38:24 PM PDT