Posted on 03/02/2007 7:25:52 PM PST by doug from upland
The Next Reagan?
By Bruce Walker
Fred Thompson has been consistently conservative on social policy and provided critical help in getting John Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice.
The Republican Party presidential field seems wide open. Giuliani has lost valuable campaign papers, which might compromise a promising candidacy. He also is to the left of the Republican center on many issues, but his honesty and likeability make up for much of that. McCain is nominally pretty conservative, but he is simply disliked and mistrusted by too many Republicans. Romney is handsome and smooth, but unless he runs away from the pack early, his possible flip-flops on social issues will hurt him.
There are dark horses, like Mike Huckabee of Arkansas or Frank Keating of Oklahoma – both are popular, articulate, conservative and made their careers in state government, rather than Washington. Tom Tancredo would make a wonderful president, but has little chance of winning either the nomination or the general election.
Republicans need someone like Ronald Reagan, someone everyone knows, someone everyone likes, someone who is conservative and – most importantly – someone who would hold the presidency for eight years. What qualifications would such a candidate need? He would have to be someone who is very articulate and convincing in front of the camera, someone who exudes confidence, someone who naturally appeals to women voters, someone familiar with the news media, someone who has kept very much in the public eye and yet someone who has been away from the mess in Washington for awhile.
Is there such a man? Yes, there is: Fred Thompson. He has been consistently conservative on social policy and his help in getting John Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court was critical. Thompson has a record in the Senate and he voted conservative, according to the American Conservative Union, eighty-six percent of the time.
Although a conservative senator, he is well liked in the Senate. He also knows the Senate very well, although he has not been a member of the Senate for five years. Thompson also supported John McCain in 2000 and was his national co-chair. He has managed to be friendly with McCain and yet a strong supporter of President Bush. In short, he would be a unifier for the entire Republican Party and should receive the strong support of McCain, if Thompson won the nomination.
The most intriguing aspect of a Thompson candidacy, however, would be his extensive and successful experience as a movie star, a regular on two very popular television programs (programs, pointedly, that are particularly popular with women voters), and now as the replacement for Paul Harvey, whose radio program reaches tens of millions of older Americans every single day.
There is another Republican who did a regular radio commentary, who appeared before the American people for years on a very popular television program, who before that was a successful movie star, and who had left politics for several years before running for president. Who? Ronald Reagan, of course. He spoke to the American people with a radio commentary during the years between his defeat for the 1976 nomination and his run for the 1980 nomination. He was on General Electric Theater, a highly rated show, for years before entering politics. President Reagan honed his skills as a communicator at every single level.
Fred Thompson would naturally appeal to a couple of voting groups who do not naturally gravitate to Republican candidates: women who watch Law & Order, senior citizens who listen to and trust Paul Harvey, and young voters who have seen Thompson's many action movies. Fred Thompson also is an impressive and brilliant communicator. He also exudes a confidence and a leadership which people naturally seek in a president in troubled times.
Would Thompson run? He originally intended to run for re-election in 2002, but the death of his daughter caused him to reconsider. Thompson obviously does not “need” to be president to feel fulfilled in his life, but that is the very thing which most Americans want – someone, like Ronald Reagan, who actually wants to be president in order to serve his country and not his ego. It certainly seems that Fred Thompson cares about the future of America and he is clearly energetic and active enough to make a presidential run.
Would Thompson win? Today people are identified by image not policy briefs; Fred Thompson of Law & Order fame has the permanent image as a “good guy” to America. If his opponents complained that he was “just an actor,” then Thompson could easily answer: “Yes, just like Ronald Reagan was just an actor” (and no one says today that Ronald Reagan was a bad president.) He might run and he could easily win. After that, this well liked and brilliant actor might be the next Reagan.
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Bruce Walker has been a published author in print and in electronic media since 1990. His first book, Sinisterism: Secular Religion of the Lie, by Outskirts Press, was published in January 2006.
Breaking on FNC today --- it is a possibility
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1794264/posts
While I like Fred, I don't see him as the next Reagan...
Well Doug Fred Thompson did it backward becamse Senator then became actor now may be presidential caindate LOL!
Least Ronnie have several years in Hollywood before he jump into political ring
Fred had been acting for many years before he ran for office.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
While I don't see him as the next Reagan, he's better than anybody on the current GOP bench...
Here is his work --- http://imdb.com/name/nm0000669/
Maybe not several years, but he had several parts before he ran for the senate.
Not sure, but I remember him being a social conservative and no-nonsense guy.
He would be a good compromise candidate. Because the current bunch doesn't cut it.
THOMPSON, Fred Dalton, (1942 - )
I've been worried about our line-up of contenders so far and many of them have been 'hold your nose and vote Republican' types that are flawed in one way or another, or are so unknown that there's no way they could win.
Now I am optimistic about the 2008 election.
I hope that's not the case. In fairness, missing the Reagan movies was not heartbreaking.
let me google Fred Thompson to find out who he is, hang on...
Well put.
I could support Thompson.
(I would prefer Gingrich)
Reagan had a tremendous history of leadership, and a study of the issues that I don't think any president ever had. It would be hard to match him.
What? Perhaps the most stupid comment I've read in ages. I can think of several things which might Compromise Rudy's candidacy, but losing some papers ain't one of them.
Biography for Fred Dalton Thompson
Height
6' 6" (1.98 m)SpouseJeri Kehn (29 June 2002 - present) 1 child
Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey (12 September 1959 - 1985) 3 childrenTrivia
Thompson can be seen on the archival footage of the Watergate Hearings in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). He was one of the active lawyers on the Watergate commitee during the trial.
He won a special election to the United States Senate in 1994 and was reelected for a full term in 1996. He did not run for reelection in 2002. A Republican, he represented his home state of Tennessee from 2 December 1994 - 3 January 2003.
Was a lawyer/attorney before becoming an actor
Senator Thompson went to Memphis State University in 1964 and Vanderbilt University in 1967.
Worked as a shoe salesman, truck driver, and even a factory worker prior to becoming a lawyer.
2nd wife Jeri, 35, is a political media consultant at Verner Liipfert law firm in Washington, who once worked for Senate Republican Conference and Republican National Committee.
Although he maintained his membership in the Screen Actors Guild when he was a senator, Thompson generally took the opposite side of the unions in legislation.
He and wife Jeri welcomed a daughter, Hayden Victoria, in October 2003.
When he joined the cast of "Law & Order" (1990) in the fall of 2002, Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) became the first serving U.S. Senator to take a regular TV acting job. His term did not end until January 2003.
Helped introduce President George W. Bush at the Republican National Convention (2004) in New York.
Also has two sons and five grandchildren.
Is the only actor to be a regular on two different "Law & Order" series at the same time. From March to May 2005, he played District Attorney Arthur Branch on both "Law & Order" (1990) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005). He also plays the same character as a recurring guest star in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999). Richard Anderson, Marla Gibbs and David Hasselhoff are among the few other actors to have played the same regular character on two different series simultaneously.
Is one of four cast members from "Law & Order" (1990) whose character became a regular on a "Law & Order" spin-off. He played District Attorney Arthur Branch in both "Law & Order" (1990) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005).
Along with Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin and Leslie Hendrix, he is one of only four actors to play the same character (District Attorney Arthur Branch) on all four "Law & Order" series ("Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005)).
Along with Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth and Dann Florek, he is one of four "Law & Order" (1990)_ cast members who later joined the regular cast of one of the spin-off series. He played District Attorney Arthur Branch on "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005) from March to May 2005.
He has played the same character, District Attorney Arthur Branch, in five different series: "Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001), "Law & Order: Trial by Jur" (2005) and "Conviction" (2006).
That resume is leagues better than Obama's.
Think our 'movie star' could beat their 'rock star?' I'd love to see that debate...
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