Free Republic

1. Here are some facts about Spencer Abraham: He was Energy Secretary for Bush and Senator from Michigan. He was generally acceptable to Jewish groups when Bush picked him to be a member of his cabinet. He is the new campaign manager for Fred Thompson, soon to be an official Republican candidate for the Presidency. He is of Lebanese decent. He was one of only a handful of Senators refusing to sign a letter calling on President Bill Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, an Arab friendly (and some...

Indonesia Issues Tsunami Warning Jul 26 02:11 AM US/Eastern JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful earthquake off eastern Indonesia triggered a tsunami warning Thursday and sent panicked residents fleeing from buildings, authorities and witnesses said. The magnitude 7 quake struck under the Maluku Sea at a depth of 20 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. Its epicenter was more than 130 miles north of Ternate city. Indonesia's geological agency issued a tsunami warning that was broadcast on national television

<p>He's hiring staff, raising money, making public appearances, and doing nicely in the polls – all without announcing even an exploratory committee for his presidential campaign. In fact, Fred Thompson might consider never formally entering the 2008 presidential sweepstakes, he's doing so well – or at least wait "until after he's wrapped up the [Republican] nomination," quips pundit Stu Rothenberg. But in the end, the former senator from Tennessee, lawyer/lobbyist, and TV actor does, by many press accounts, plan to announce in early September that he is running for president; he may formalize an "exploratory" phase before then. One point is already clear: GOP nomination race 2.0 has begun. "It's down to three [candidates]. Some would say 2-1/2. I would say three," says Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The half-candidate would be former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who still leads in national polls, but whose numbers have been falling steadily for several months – in direct proportion to the steady, upward trajectory of Mr. Thompson's, according to Pollster.com. The campaign of Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, once seen as the GOP heir apparent, is nearly bankrupt, and with Thompson entering the race, that makes his money chase all the more difficult. Mr. Giuliani could remain strong if there's continued national focus on terrorism – and especially if the US is attacked again before the primaries. But failing that, the race may well boil down to Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, analysts say. Despite Giuliani's longstanding position at the top of the GOP heap in national 2008 presidential polls, political experts have attributed that lead to name recognition. As conservative base voters have learned about Giuliani's liberal positions on abortion and gay rights, the former mayor's overall support has declined.</p>

Who's the real front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination? A new memo penned by Alex Gage, a senior strategist for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, argues that his boss, not former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, deserves the distinction. "Rudy Giuliani continues to lead the Republican field as he has since polling on the race began last year," writes Gage in a document dated July 20. "However, Giuliani's support began to ebb in February and has slipped 2-3 points per month since then." As evidence, Gage points to a compilation of national polls done by Charles Franklin, a...

After the Los Angles Times came under fire for a possibly bogus story on former Sen. Fred Thompson lobbying for a pro-abortion group, a New York Times article on Thursday claims billing records prove it to be true. The Times reported that Thompson spent nearly 20 hours in 1991 and 1992 lobbying for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association to get the Bush administration to drop its policy preventing taxpayer funding of groups that promote or perform abortions in other nations. He spent 20 hours working for the group as an attorney at the Arent Fox law firm...

Joe, the guy behind the counter at the store in Canterbury Center, has a way of sniffing out the Next Big Story. Maybe this is because Joe reads all the papers first thing every morning. Or maybe it's because as a conservative curmudgeon he is quick to tap into the zeitgeist of the largely conservative, largely curmudgeonly blogosphere, where small stories echo and bounce and expand until they evolve into Big Stories and wind up in the MSM ("mainstream media" in blogspeak). In any case, Joe is a goldmine of ideas for a columnist, especially one of a liberal bent...

Mitt Romney's presidential campaign saw substantial declines in fund-raising during the second quarter of this year from Massachusetts and Utah, the two states that fueled his earlier success with donors. In Massachusetts, where Mr. Romney was governor for four years, donations fell 69 percent, dropping to $728,742 from $2.3 million in the previous reporting period. In Utah, where he was chief executive of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, his collections were off by 58 percent, decreasing to $1.2 million from $2.8 million, according to figures released yesterday. The drops in those states would seem to suggest that...

The race for of the Republican Presidential nomination following the July 4th holiday looks a lot like it did before the nation’s birthday party. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani essentially tied for the lead. It’s Thompson at 25% and Giuliani at 24%. Trailing the frontrunners at a distance are former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Arizona Senator John McCain. They’re tied at 12%. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback each attract support from 2% of voters nationally. Five other candidates...

LAMITAN CITY [Philippines]-- They were returning to base in heavy rains after a fruitless search for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi when their trucks stalled in the mud. Then the firing began. In a 10-hour gun battle that turned into a carnage, 14 Marines were killed -- 10 of them beheaded -- and nine others wounded in one of the most shocking military debacles in years in the country’s southern islands. “They were surprised when bullets rained on them,” Brig. Gen. Ramiro Alivio told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, recounting Tuesday’s daylong clash between 50 badly outnumbered Marines and some 400...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A doctor for former Sen. Fred Thompson announced Wednesday that the possible presidential candidate was diagnosed in 2004 with a form of lymphoma -- a cancer that begins in cells of the immune system -- and that it is currently in remission. "Right now, he has no evidence of disease," said Dr. Bruce D. Cheson, head of hematology in the division of hematology/oncology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. Many such patients "can live a normal life span," he said. Cheson described his 64-year-old patient's disease as an "indolent lymphoma -- slow growing." (Watch the doctor talk...

You might see a Hollywood actor walking around Ames later this summer. The Republican Party of Iowa tells Channel 13 News that Fred Thompson is expected to attend its straw poll in Ames this August. Thompson didn't attend the party chairman's barbecue tonight in Des Moines, but he was a much talked about topic of conversation as lesser known candidates walked the crowd. Many people want to know when Thompson will officially announce he is running for president. "I suppose it's a timing game for them. Try to keep it at a slow boil as long as they can," said...

WASHINGTON – Fred Thompson’s expected entry into the tight Republican presidential race is drawing crucial strength from conservatives and older men, vaulting him into the thick of the nomination fight, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll says. The survey shows the top Democratic contender, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has twice the support from women as her nearest rival, Barack Obama, but dwindling strength among men. Her margin over the Illinois senator has eroded slightly since the last AP-Ipsos poll, in March. Thompson, who has sandwiched an acting career around a largely anonymous eight years as Tennessee senator, has not formally entered the race....

Is Fred Thompson dithering about running for president, or just running out the clock on his NBC contract? They take polls about the dumbest things. One that fits that category is an online survey inviting folks to predict when Fred Thompson will declare he's running for president. Thompson, of course, is the flavor of the month for Republican activists in Chatham County and around the state. For the moment, the former U.S. senator from Tennessee has the best of both worlds. He's using blogs, podcasts and other such stuff to send his unfiltered message to prospective supporters. Because he's not...

Voters and pundits alike are claiming that a potential Fred Thompson run for the White House could "save" the conservative movement that has been betrayed by President George W. Bush. Such a claim defies the facts, because Thompson's political pedigree includes Bush-like globalist credentials. This column was prompted by near-record e-mail responses, the vast majority of which asserted that a previous WND column on this topic did not go far enough. Some of the material supporting this follow-up was provided by those WND readers, some of whom claimed to write from Lawrenceburg, Tenn. (Thompson's hometown). Just as the favorite Republican...

LAKE GENEVA -- State GOP activists voting in the annual WisPolitics.com Straw Poll this weekend favored former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson for president in 2008 and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker for governor in 2010. Fred Thompson received 95 votes, compared to 84 votes for former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson. Mitt Romney was a distant third with 41 votes. Tommy Thompson and Sam Brownback, who got 14 votes, addressed the convention in separate speeches. Straw poll voters heavily favored Walker as their favorite for the 2010 GOP gubernatorial nomination. He received 142 votes, or 46 percent of ballots cast. Walker...

TAMPA - Fred Thompson says he's in no hurry to decide whether to run for president, even as his potential opponents traverse the country raising millions in campaign money. But he acknowledged that, with Florida's earlier Jan. 29 primary, the Sunshine State will play a more critical role than ever in determining who wins the Republican ticket. The former Tennessee senator, who now plays a prosecutor on television's Law & Order, was in Tampa Thursday night addressing the Hillsborough County Bar Association Foundation in an event that was closed to reporters. It had been scheduled before there was public talk...

Raleigh — A recent poll suggests a prospective Republican presidential candidate would make a strong showing in North Carolina. According to the latest Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey, Fred Thompson would place second in the Republican primary race with 25 percent of likely Republican voters. The former Tennessee senator has not yet announced whether he will run for president. It was the first time PPP included Thompson in the monthly primary tracking poll. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be first among potential Republican voters with 32 percent, followed by John McCain at 16 percent and Mitt Romney...

As the collection of announced presidential candidates participate in a campaign-athon that is occasionally so stomach turning that it should be sponsored by Pepto Bismol, actor and former Senator Fred Thompson waits it out – smartly. Should he run, Fred's already earned my vote, and I'll tell you why. First of all, I have to admit, I'm tired and borderline nauseated by this particular race for the Oval Office that seemingly started during Bush's first term – and I mean George H.W. Bush. Normally I enjoy campaign season, as it's terrific fodder for those of us who like a good...

Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson said Tuesday that his potential Republican opponents are trying to dig up dirt on him while he considers running for the White House. Thompson said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes" that he was surprised to hear opposition researchers were combing through public records in Tennessee. "I thought it would have maybe been a little early," Thompson said. "I thought it might have come from the Democrats instead of Republicans, but that's the way it is nowadays." Thompson said his wife had also heard from a man falsely claiming to be an...

Thompson didn't announce, but he said all the right things. SIXTY-THREE REPUBLICAN members of the House of Representatives showed up at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC, on Wednesday afternoon to hear from Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee Senator and potential presidential candidate. "I've not been pleased with the field of presidential candidates on our side," says Representative Lynn Westmoreland, a second term congressman from Georgia who attended the meeting. Westmoreland had been impressed with Thompson after his March 11 appearance on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Westmoreland says his view of the field reflects the consensus of...