Fred Thompson's Bandwagon Is Rolling

By Tim Darnell, Hasting Wyman's Southern Political Report ~ As first reported yesterday on SPR - and as was discussed during Sunday's edition of C-Span's Washington Journal - supporters of Tennessee's Fred Dalton Thompson are mapping out a plan to draft the sometime actor into a presidential run.

UPDATE: Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Monday added his voice to those urging Fred Thompson to run for president. Frist, a Tennessee Republican who abandoned his own presidential ambitions in November, wrote on his blog that Thompson is "a genuine leader."

UPDATE: U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Knoxville, endorsed Mitt Romney for president less than two months ago, but he says he instead will back Tennessee's Fred Thompson if he joins the fray. "If (former Sen.) Fred Thompson gets in there, then I definitely would support him," Duncan, a Republican, said in an interview. "He's been a long-time friend. I know him a whole lot better than I know (former Massachusetts) Gov. Romney."

AND THIS: From Wednesday's edition of Evans & Novak: "The hype over former Sen. Fred Thompson has some substance to it, as the actor-politician has already begun approaching experienced campaign hands in key states. Thompson already evokes the obvious comparison to Ronald Reagan because of his profession. Thompson effectively embraced the Republican right when he ran for and entered the U.S. Senate. From the perspective of the Republican Party's conservative base, he stacks up well against each of the 'Big Three' leading Republican candidates. His voting record (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 86%) in the Senate is more conservative than that of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain (lifetime ACU rating: 82%), none of his position-switches are nearly as bad or as recent as those of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), and nothing in his background is as negative as that of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R). Given enough money, Thompson could make a good run at it by tearing down the conservative credentials of the 'Big Three' and then building himself up as a tax-cutting, pro-life former senator. His acting role on 'Law & Order' does not hurt, either."

Also, Thompson is likely to assess his chances of a presidential bid around the beginning of May, reports The Politico. SPR has already noted that Thompson has served as a substitute host on radio legend Paul Harvey's daily broadcast. This enables him to directly reach an audience in the nation's heartland, an area outside of the South in which he is perhaps best known.

Last year, ABC News Radio named Thompson special program host and senior analyst, leading to speculation he might be the heir apparent to the 88-year-old Harvey.

Also yesterday, another radio icon, Rush Limbaugh, said he was getting more e-mails about a potential Thompson candidacy than he had gotten about any other announced GOP contender.
Thompson obviously sees a potential opening in the field of Republican hopefuls as a no-nonsense, charismatic conservative who would offer reassurance at a time when voters are craving security, according to friends.

As for those who question whether the nation is ready for another actor in the White House, it should be noted that Thompson's career in the public sector is more successful and extensive than his film career. And he arguably has far more experience and credentials in government and politics than did that other famous Hollywood actor turned president, Ronald Reagan.

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