Posted on 03/16/2007 1:42:16 PM PDT by STARWISE
Last week I spent about an hour asking my Republican colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives what they thought about the possibility of former Sen. Fred Thompson running for President.
What happened then was the political equivalent of March Madness with over 40 Members of Congress immediately signing up to either meet with Fred or outright volunteering to help.
When I spoke with Senator Thompson this week, I told him it was like someone set off fireworks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
There are many reasons Fred should run for President and they have nothing to do with anyone else currently running from either party. So here we go:
1. He personifies strength and trust - the two primary characteristics people look for in a President.
2. He is a natural leader - let's face it. Some politicians are but most are not.
3. He is a consistent conservative - from national security and second amendment rights to the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, Fred is a strong conservative.
4. He has charisma - in the Senate they call it "gravitas." At home it's just plain old confidence. Fred knows who he is, where he came from and where we, as a nation, should go together.
5. He has plenty of experience - not a career politician, but from cleaning up government corruption to chairing select committees on Chinese missile technology, Fred Thompson has the right amount of experience.
6. He is highly electable - Fred Thompson has always been likeable. From the movie set to the Senate floor, he is just "good ol' Fred" to everyone he comes in contact with.
7. He has "star quality" - let's face it, we are at the height of the information age. The media overdoes it so someone who is media friendly and has some celebrity is advantaged.
8. He has a great sense of humor - during the difficult times in which we live, we need a touch of humor. Fred is serious minded but does not take himself too seriously.
9. He is comfortable in his own skin - What you see is what you get. Fred Thompson is the real deal and it shows.
10. He is a Tennessean - perhaps the biggest plus of all and sorry y'all...you have to be one to really understand.
If you feel as I do, let Fred know it. I think he is the closest thing to Ronald Reagan we have seen in a long time.
Zach Wamp Member of Congress
Are you under the impression that anyone around here gives a rip what your opinion of Fred Thompson is?
Can't anybody tell us why FT didn't serve in the armed forces?
It's better than McCain because Thompson doesn't scream "unstable" every time you look at him. It's better than fellow McCain-Feingold supporter Rudy because Thompson has never marched with NARAL or supported government funded abortion or enacted anti-2nd amendment legislation.
Graymatter wrote: "I'm coming around. Currently in the "tell me now" phase. As in, if there's a skeleton in the closet, a bimbo, a deferment he shouldn't have gotten, or an unpaid parking ticket, please tell me now before you break my heart."
From the Blonde Sagacity blog:
"With Newt and Rudy's personal lives coming front and center, many are wondering if Thompson could be looking at the same judgments. In many of the posts I've read on various sites/blogs, Thompson's second wife is referred to as his "trophy wife". From what I can find, this woman is hardly just an arm piece."
"Jeri Kehn was a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, and McPherson law firm in Washington, D.C. She also worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee."
"Unlike Newt and Rudy, Thompson's second marriage did not overlap with his first wife (men may not care about that, but many women voters do). Thompson and Sara Lindsey divorced in 1985. He didn't meet Jeri Kehn until 1996 and they married in 2002."
"And I may be biased, but it couldn't hurt diplomatic relations to have a smart, pretty, blonde as the First Lady..."
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/2007/03/for-record-fred-thompsons-wife.html
Noted.
Whoa. You were ahead of the curve that time, you knew in December!
(Love your home page, too.)
EternalVigilance wrote: "About the only point of disagreement I have is [Wamp's] assessment of Fred's overall conservatism."
Fred Thompson has been a conservative all of his adult life. From a seven year old USA Today article when it (wrongly) reported that Thompson was considering a run for vice president:
"'We were probably the two guys least likely to succeed in our class,' said Howard Liebengood, Thompson's law school friend and now a lobbyist for Philip Morris."
"Liebengood said he and Thompson felt out of place at Vanderbilt. They graduated from state universities, while many of their peers attended private schools. He also said they were conservatives when campuses were alive with rebellion."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e2222.htm
Thompson is not just a "supporter" of campaign finance reform. He is one of the fathers of it. That is why the legislation used to be called McCain-Feingold-Thompson, before it was watered down.
Again, how is this better than having a President McCain?
Well, his level of conservatism is probably more than sufficient to satisfy most members of the "unwashed masses," even within conservatism, who base their political decisions on perceptions.
I remember reading somewhere that one of the reasons Thompson decided to run was that there was a "buzz" on the blogs urging him to run. I'll bet FR was one of the first, if not the first, blog/forum to start the buzzing.
Watered down? How so?
A perfect ticket, to me, would be Fred Thompson and U.S. Representative John Shadegg of Arizona.
Shadegg would be a perfect young conservative to be grooming for a White House run in the future, and he has great leadership qualities already.
Graymatter wrote: "Can't anybody tell us why FT didn't serve in the armed forces?"
I don't know for sure, but I can guess that it was because Fred was just 17 when he married his first wife, Sarah Lindsey. The two youngsters had to struggle in the early years of their married life. The couple, who divorced in 1985, lived in public housing for about a year when they started out.
Thompson graduated from Memphis State University in 1964 and earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967. He worked at a bicycle plant, post office and motel to pay for school.
11. He would be the first President named Fred.
Some of these measures were "voluntary," but nonetheless a dangerous increase in governmental regulation over free speech.
Testing new tag line.
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