[Fred]Thompson's ready to step on toes

The Seattle Times ^ | August 16, 2007 | David Broder

[2ndDivisionVet]

When Fred Thompson makes his long-delayed entrance into the Republican presidential race, he will not tiptoe quietly. Instead, he will try to shake up the establishment candidates of both parties by depicting a nation in peril from fiscal and security threats — and prescribing tough cures he says others shrink from offering.

In a two-hour conversation over coffee at a restaurant near his Virginia headquarters, the former senator from Tennessee said that when he joins the battle next month, he "will take some risks that others are not willing to take, in terms of forcing a dialogue on our entitlement situation, our military situation and what it's going to cost" to assure the nation's future.

After spending most of the past few years on TV's "Law and Order," and starting a new family with two children under 4, the 65-year-old lawyer says he finds himself motivated for the first time to seek the White House.

"There's no reason for me to run just to be president," he said. "I don't desire the emoluments of the office. I don't want to live a lie and clever my way to the nomination or election. But if you can put your ideas out there — different, more far-reaching ideas — that is worth doing."

Thompson, like many of the others running, has caught a strong whiff of the public disillusionment with both parties in Washington — and the partisanship that has infected Congress, helping to speed his own departure from the Senate.

[lolhelp]

Well, say what you mean on here or you will be jumped over and over, not much tolerance here for STUPID!

[noamnasty]

I don’t recall ‘dishing’ anything personal off to you . Also i don’t think this has anything to do with this thread . Being new here is not easy, and even less so when there are certain few who think they own the place. If your not one of them than forgive me,if you are than remember I’m not the only one reading these threads .It’s getting obvious that certain cliques want to dominate .

[eyedigress]

Just tell the truth Fred, and you will win.

[brothers4thID]

I see you learned how to spell clique. You know I think you’re just being misunderstood because you’re so adamant about your cause. Your passion tends to overwhelm your message. As our dear First Lady said to her husband in 2000: “tone down the rhetoric”.

[#1CTYankee]

Fred will run, he will get plenty of airtime the week he announces and plan his schedule accordingly for maximum exposure. The key is getting his message out and building interest in his candidacy.

I wish he had announced in early Aug when his poll numbers were higher but this may work out better. (After the straw poll in Iowa)

[noamnasty]

Yes I do get by with a little help from my ‘friends’,[ clique ]!

I do get passionate when I see my country going down . Change has always been a part of living, but not to this degree .

[no-to-illegals]

no, sorry, you have the wrong person.

[hershey]

The country needs him, and thank God, he’s willing to run.