[j_k_l]

talk is cheap Fred.

are you in or out?

[areafiftyone]

I think he is in. But he’s not going to be campaigning on the trail like most politicians - he’s doing an internet thing that his wife and campaign is putting together.

[areafiftyone]

To be honest I don’t think he can handle the rigors of being on the campaign trail. He looked pretty worn out and old last night. His brain is sharp as a tack though. He has a good sense of humor too.

[CJ Wolf]

not in.

[Obadiah]

Why in the world “must” he be in or out right now? It’s a thing of beauty. He’s becoming more popular each day without being an official candidate. Why mess with success? I think he will be in at the right time. As long as he is doing all the right things behind the scenes (raising money, lining up support and campaign talent) I’m fine with that.

If Thompson gets in, it will change the whole dynamics of 2008 and Democrats know it - and they fear it.

[untrained skeptic]

To be honest, he'd be a fool to declare right now.

Right now he is getting paid as a commentator. If he declares, he has to give up that job.

Right now he can effectively get paid to make his opinions known.

If he declares, he will have to spend millions of dollars to buy airtime for campaign ads.

He will also have to spend a large part of his time raising campaign funds.

He will also lose the money he currently makes as reruns of Law and Order that he is in are shown, because those will have to be taken off the air until the election is over. There are likely contractual issues involved in that as well, and he would likely also be preventing some of his friends and coworkers from that show from making money off of the reruns.

There are a lot of good reasons for Fred to wait as long as he can before declaring.

[PISANO]

IMHO actively running for the POTUS 18-24 months from the next Presidential election is silly, notwithstanding the ridiculous necessity of raising money.

It is the main reason for the downward spiral into the abyss of "all politics all of the time!!"

[Corin Stormhands]

[NavyCanDo]

There are some contractual issues he has to work out carefully. I think he is in. I predict he will jump in by mid June.

[mac_truck]

I think F. Thompson is waiting for McCain to drop out before making a commitment to run. If McCain starts to pick up some steam, Fred stays on the sidelines, if McCain falters Fred will step into his shoes.

I do not see McCain & F. Thompson in the race campaigning against each other.

[Constantine XIII]

The election is still over a year away

He gets credit from me for not getting involved in it yet, like most normal folks, even politically invested ones. :p