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
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.