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LAKELAND - Fred Thompson is aiming his campaign at the conservative end of the Republican Party and he's shaking up the Florida presidential primary. Drawing large, excited crowds during his first tour of Florida as a declared candidate last week, Thompson sought to offer Republicans something many feel has been missing in the GOP field - a Reaganesque communicator with the charisma to lift the party out of its deep political hole. But his initial effort also showed rough edges: a reluctance to get specific on issues and an occasionally lackadaisical campaign style that left some wondering whether he can...

Very seldom will I venture a prediction on a major race like president, especially over a year out and with each party having 10 candidates openly vying for their nomination. In addition, it is the most open presidential race in my lifetime. It has been 80 years since a president was not seeking reelection and a sitting vice-president was not seeking to move up. The race is truly wide open. I am going out on a limb and predicting that Fred Thompson will be chosen as the republican nominee for president at their convention this time next year and that...

Governor Romney on the Need for a Federal Marriage Amendment Friday, Sep 14, 2007 Governor Mitt Romney MSNBC's "Morning Joe" September 14, 2007 MSNBC's Joe Scarborough: "Do you support a national constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage?" Governor Romney: "Boy, I sure do. You know, that's a topic that's really, I think, very important to the country because marriage is not just about adults. Marriage is about the development and nurturing of kids, and in my view, the development of a child is enhanced by having a mom and dad. And so, I think it's very important that we have...

You remember Mitt Romney's forceful condemnation of the MoveOn ad, don't you? And Fred Thompson's? And John McCain's? No? Well, they're all here. But you don't remember them, do you? You've probably noticed only one GOP candidate's foot-stamping phony outrage at the ad, because, among the Republican candidates, Rudolph Giuliani owns this issue. He's obsessed with it. Here's the latest: Mr. Giuliani, a Republican presidential candidate, sought -- and received -- space in Friday editions of [The New York Times] for an advertisement in which he praises General Petraeus. Neither the Giuliani campaign nor The Times's advertising department would disclose...

With former Senator Fred Thompson's entry into the presidential race, the Republicans now have at least three candidates who could have the money and votes to compete, if necessary, all the way to June 2008. And they might have to do so. Indeed, when the Republicans meet in Minneapolis-St. Paul in September 2008 to choose their nominee, they might be looking at a brokered convention. Of course, the party has had multiple strong candidates before--in 1980, for instance, and 1988 and even in 2000. But the old schedule of primaries and caucuses was designed to winnow down the field. By...

<p>Yes, Giuliani - the national front-runner for months now - holds close to a five-point lead over former Sen. Fred Thompson in the latest Real Clear Politics averages.</p> <p>But there are big warning signs that make a Giuliani nomination a dubious proposition at best. Look - I'm no disinterested observer. I am an active Democrat and was a polling strategist for President Bill Clinton. But a big part of me would like to see the former mayor win the nomination; I'm a New Yorker, and of all the Republicans, he is most to my liking philosophically.</p>

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) overwhelmingly leads the race of Republican presidential candidates, according to a new nationwide poll of conservatives. But Democrats are calling Thompson's presidential bid "less than stellar." A poll conducted last week of 39,000 conservatives by the grassroots organization Grassfire.org found that conservatives favor Thompson by a greater than 2-to-1 margin over his nearest competitor, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. When asked whom they would vote for if the Republican primary were held today, 28 percent of respondents preferred Thompson. Romney gained 14 percent of the vote -down two percent from May. "It seems conservatives want...

Republican Fred Thompson gained a bump in support after his long-delayed entry in the 2008 presidential race and nearly caught front-runner Rudy Giuliani in two opinion polls released on Tuesday. Thompson, a Hollywood actor and former senator from Tennessee, closed to within a statistically insignificant one percentage point of Giuliani in a new CNN poll after trailing the former New York mayor by seven points in last month's poll. A CBS/New York Times poll showed Thompson climbing to within five percentage points of Giuliani, wiping out much of his 20-point lead from a month ago. Thompson formally entered the race...

From Thompson for President Communications Director Todd Harris. Statement on Romney's South Carolina Cover-Up "Fred Thompson entered the race for president just days ago, talking about uniting our country around a core set of conservative beliefs. According to the Washington Post, it is now clear that while Fred Thompson is working to bring our country together, an increasingly desperate Mitt Romney and his campaign are already hard at work to divide us, practicing the lowest kind of politics. "Today's half-baked cover-up attempt by the Romney campaign does not even pass the laugh test. The Romney campaign has paid Warren Tompkins...

BOSTON - A spokesman for Republican Mitt Romney said Tuesday that the presidential candidate did not approve the creation of a Web site severely critical of the personal and political life of his GOP rival, Fred Thompson. The Web site, PhoneyFred.org, was created by Wesley Donehue, a business partner of Warren Tompkins, a South Carolina political operative on the Romney payroll and Romney's top adviser in the early voting state. The site was created without the knowledge of Tompkins or Romney, said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden. After the campaign received media inquiries about it, Romney aides traced the site to...

Last week Fred Thompson was speaking to a crowd of close to three hundred people at the Music Man Square in Mason City, Iowa, explaining how he accidentally fell into a movie career. In the early 1980s Hollywood producers came to Tennessee to make a film about a famous case Thompson had handled as a young lawyer. "They asked me to play myself," Thompson told the audience in his folksy, Southern drawl, "and I said, well, they can't tell me I'm doing it wrong - although they still did from time to time." The line always gets a big laugh,...

No novices to big time politics, Midlanders are anticipating Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Wednesday appearances but unsure they will support him. The handsome, dark-haired former Massachusetts governor, a high powered Boston private equity investment executive worth $400 million, will not meet skepticism so much for his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Apparently it will be more for his perceived lack of conservative credentials. Notwithstanding his endorsement by Congressman Mike Conaway, who will host a breakfast fundraiser, observers say Romney has changed positions on abortion and other issues to appeal to conservatives, who provide...

Former Senator Fred Thompson first announced that he might be available for the Republican Presidential nomination nearly six months ago. Since then, he has done well in the polls, missed a few possible dates to formally enter the campaign, skipped several Republican Presidential “debates”, and inevitably faced questions as to whether he waited too long to enter the race. Last week, he finally made it official and had the stage to himself while other candidates scrambled for attention in yet another candidate “debate.” The early returns are encouraging for Thompson and his team. Despite the fact that his intentions have...

While in Texas yesterday, Rudy took a weak swing at Fred's comments on Friday regarding Osama Bin Laden. Without mentioning the former senator and actor by name, Giuliani took umbrage with Thompson’s statement on Friday that 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden is "more symbolism than anything else." “It is just not symbolic,” said Giuliani following a brief reception for about 150 supporters outside the stadium. “If you think its just symbolic, I’m not sure you understand the full depth of Islamic terrorism.” “If you can remove some of that leadership you will see an ability to roll it back,” he...

Governor Mitt Romney Press Conference at Massachusetts State House, June 16, 2005 Gov. Romney answers questions at press conference 6/16/05. (Following the formal announcement of the citizens initiative petition for the constitutional amendment regarding marriage, Gov. Mitt Romney gave a press conference at the State House. MassResistance was there, tape recorded the proceedings, and took the photo at the left. We've highlighted some of the interesting parts of his talk.) Governor Romney (opening statement): It's my understanding that the Massachusetts Family Institute has authored and is proposing an amendment relating to gay marriage. And there are a couple of things...

Rich Lowry’s latest column asks, “Why Fred?” In the op ed, Lowry attempts to head off some possible answers to his question by arguing that Fred’s adherence to federalist principles doesn’t count. It most certainly does, as it is one of the guiding principles upon which a Thompson presidency would be built. Lowry also cites the “forward-looking” health-care proposals offered up by Thompson rivals Romney and Giuliani as the kind of “fresh thinking” that Thompson will have to demonstrate. Um, sorry, Rich, but those health care plans are the kind of “fresh thinking” that is morphing the Republican Party into...

So now, finally, we have a Fred Thompson presidential candidacy. The new candidate, fresh from his Schwarzeneggeresque announcement on Jay Leno, doesn’t have much patience for those who say he waited too long to get in the race. “I don’t think people are going to say, ‘You know, that guy would make a very good president, but he just didn’t get in soon enough,’” Thompson told Leno Wednesday night — while the other GOP candidates debated in New Hampshire. It’s a good line. But it is, in fact, too late for Thompson to run the kind of conventional candidacy —...

Well, Fred Dalton Thompson finally made it official, on the "Tonight Show" of all places: He's running for president. Though so far it's been more like strolling for president. I like Thompson, but I've been pretty much immune to his cult of personality. It's amazing: Just say "I don't get it" about the man, and some Thompson fans will react like you disputed the wholesomeness of their mother's recreational habits. I still don't really get the hoopla over the guy, but now that he's officially in the race, I'm giving it a try. Until recently, pundits - including yours truly...

GLENN BECK PROGRAM BEGIN TRANSCRIPT GLENN: Welcome to the program. Mayor Giuliani, how are you? GIULIANI: Nice to talk to you. GLENN: Rudy, first of all, loved you in the debate. I saw the polls and people disagree with me. They thought you were talking about New York too much. I personally thought you won the night the other night. I thought you were very clear. The reason why you were talking about New York is you're not hanging your hat on September 11th. You're hanging your hat on all kinds of things. You have vast amounts of experience and...

There were three clear winners tonight: Giuliani, Huckabee and Thompson. And there was one big loser tonight: Romney. Let’s start with the winners: Thompson came out a winner within the first five minutes thanks to the moderator’s opening question about the candidate-to-be’s decision to go on Jay Leno instead of showing up for this debate. The fact that every candidate (including Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee and even McCain) took potshots (a few of which were even a bit cheap) reinforced the idea that the entire Republican field views Thompson as a major candidate, a major threat and one of the frontrunners....