My husband, Steve, told me that he’s a Rudy Giuliani supporter, but if Fred Thompson gets in the race, he’ll switch his support to Thompson. When I asked why, he said that, first, Thompson is a conservative and, second, like Reagan, he has great presence and movie star quality. Because of these things, he would squash any Democratic candidate. Well, Steve will be pleased to read this in the Politico today:
Fred Thompson, the “Law & Order” actor and former senator from Tennessee, has moved beyond pondering a bid for the White House and begun assembling the nucleus of a campaign should he decide to run, according to people involved in the effort.
Thompson has not yet decided to seek the Republican presidential nomination. But “he is getting more serious every day,” said an adviser familiar with Thompson’s plans.
Thompson’s coming-out as a candidate-in-waiting will be a May 4 appearance at the 45th annual dinner of the Lincoln Club of Orange County in the heart of Ronald Reagan country in Southern California. The invitation was widely sought by aspiring Republicans, and his advisers expect considerable media attention around the visit. But there are no plans now for an announcement then.
Thompson will also stoke speculation with a meeting of House Republicans April 18 at the Capitol Hill Club, organized by Rep Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), the most vocal promoter of a Thompson candidacy. More than 60 House Republicans have indicated they want to come to hear the former senator, according to organizers.
Dick Wolf, creator of Law and Order, spoke to the LA Times about Fred Thompson’s gifts as a communicator:
In many ways, Thompson is a politician who learned how to be an actor by simply playing himself. A big man with a deep baritone Dixie drawl, he exudes authority. Pro 2nd Amendment, he looks like a guy who could manage a crisis. And, according to television producer Dick Wolf, who cast Thompson in “Law & Order,” he probably could.
“Look, I’ve met every president since Nixon,” said Wolf, an independent who supported Bill Clinton. “When they focus their attention on you, it’s like a light goes on. They have this unique ability to make you feel like you’re the only one in the room.
“I don’t know if it’s a gift or a trick, but Fred’s got it.”
Wolf finds Thompson’s potential candidacy interesting. He’s even had conversations with him about it.
“We talked about it in the abstract,” Wolf recounted. “I said, ‘You should run.’ He said, ‘Really, why?’ I said, ‘Because I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can appeal to the base.’ “
Wolf said he could easily see Thompson running and winning.
“When Fred Thompson walks in a room, people want to salute,” Wolf said.
Hat tip: Elephant Biz
You can click over to Fred’s website here and sign the petition asking him to run.
Update: Watch video of Fred Thompson speaking at a Nashville church five days after 9/11.
Hat tip: Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner
Update II: Fred Thompson has a post at Red State about Iran’s kidnapping of the British sailors and marines titled The Pirates of Tehran:
Oil prices fell. The stock market rose. Video images of smiling British soldiers with Iranian President Ahmadinejad were everywhere. So were pictures of the 15 freed hostages embracing family members back home. The relief over the return of the Brits was so tremendous; you could almost hear birds singing.
Maybe it’s because military action won’t be needed or maybe it’s just because the ordeal won’t drag on and on, but the world is breathing easier now. A lot of folks are happy. The problem, as I see it, is that Ahmadinejad seems to be the happiest.
And why shouldn’t he be? He has shown the world that his forces can kidnap British citizens, subject them to brutal psychological tactics to coerce phony confessions, finagle the release of a high-ranking Iranian terror coordinator in Iraq, utterly trash the Geneva conventions and suffer absolutely no consequences.
Read the rest.
