Thompson is on my short list so I’m looking forward to this:
Thompson’s formal announcement is planned for Nashville. Organizers say the red pickup truck that was a hallmark of Thompson’s first Senate race will begin showing up in Iowa and New Hampshire as an emblem of what they consider his folksy, populist appeal.
A testing-the-waters committee is to be formed June 4 so Thompson can start raising money, and staffers will go on the payroll in early June, the organizers said. A policy team has been formed, but remains under wraps.
Fred ThompsonThe supporters on Tuesday’s call make up a group the campaign is calling “First Day Founders.” When launched, the campaign will have offices in Nashville and Northern Virginia, the advisers say.
A new web site is on the way:
In addition, the nascent campaign is planning to launch a Web site in the next 10 days, according to one person familiar with campaign planning. Thompson will give a speech in Virginia this weekend and is scheduled to appear on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” next month.
And I trust that the videos will be rolling out frequently.
Bloggers React:
The Hillary Spot
Just talked to a Thompson source I’ll call “TA3″ (Thompson Associate 3). Much more coming shortly, but the first word was, there will not be a presidential announcement from Fred Thompson on July 4. The Politico got it wrong, it appears.
Don Surber
Fred is like the second-string quarterback in the NFL. He looks good holding that clipboard in that nice crisp uniform on the sidelines. He ain’t never thrown an interception or fumbled the ball. On the other hand, look who we’ve got in the game.
Scared Monkeys
But Fred Thompson has the right stuff. He walked away from the Senate and all its sycophantic garbage that McCain thinks of as the be all and end all. He can express in very simple and concise terms complicated ideas, something that Giuliani and Romney are far from able to do. And when it is time to face Hillary or Obama, he carries himself so well that they will look shrill and lightweight compared to him.
Wonkette
It seems like only yesterday when we were bemoaning the terrible non-Hollywood crop of not-that-tall Republican front-runners Rudy, Walnuts and L. Ron Romney. When, oh when would giant right-wing dreamboat Fred Thompson and his latest wife join the race?
Gay Patriot
Thompson will unfortunately have to pander somewhat to the extreme Right in order to win the nomination which I hate to see. Since the GWOT remains my #1 issue above any other, in order for him to get my vote he will need to convince me that he is far more capable than any other candidate of successfully prosecuting the war while not going overboard like Bush on other issues I care about. My loved ones and this country mean far more to me than anything else, including gay rights.
MyDD
Without even announcing, Thompson has reached double-digits nationally. It will be interesting to see if this announcement boosts him even further. Given current Republican dissatisfaction with their announced candidates, he certainly has a lot of potential in this campaign. The Republican top tier now includes four candidates.
Captain’s Quarters
Unlike Sager, though, I believe that Thompson has made several serious moves towards his candidacy — just nothing official. He has managed to make himself very relevant by delivering much-anticipated speeches to various Republican groups. Thompson has also written a series of essays, erudite and sensational, on various hot issues as well as explaining and expanding on his federalist beliefs. It’s almost a philosopher’s campaign for the White House, an approach that may not have a parallel since Woodrow Wilson.
Hot Air
I can live with the hokiness of the pick-up truck, I guess, but if he starts riding horses I’m out of here.
Michelle Malkin
What’s there to say?
The American Mind
Fred Thompson entering the race means more competition which is good. Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and the other candidates will have to stay sharp, hone their messages, and continue building up their campaign infrastructure. Also, a benefit of primaires is the new ideas candidates bring. To win next November the Republican nominee will have to offer a positive program to make government better, more accountable, and cheaper. He must offer substansive ideas the public can glom onto.
Mary Katherine Ham
I, for one, was tired of waiting. I like the prospect of a Fred! in the race, but I was wondering if he’d hit a point where waiting so long was producing diminishing returns. Donations on June 4, huh? Right around the corner.
Blue Crab Boulevard
Oddly, I was just reading a Newsweek magazine while waiting for my daughter in the dentist’s office. They reported that the red pickup was sitting in Thompson’s driveway with peeling paint. Their spin was that local political prognosticators were watching that truck to see if it suddenly underwent a facelift.
Wizbang!
Right now he is polling really well as someone not officially in the race. There are actually many advantages to not being in the race now — not having to participate in those early debates for one. Okay, I know there are advantages and disadvantages to participating in the debates, but for someone with high name recognition, and even higher face recognition, like Thompson, I think not being in the early debates has been a plus.
TexasFred’s
Fred Thompson needs to get this thing going, NOW!! America needs him, Conservatives can and will support him, and by God, if we don’t, then we deserve whatever bullshit that DOES fall out of the mouths of the Repubs or Dems, because if we don’t get Thompson in the White House, it really doesn’t matter WHO you put in, there’s not a dimes worth of difference in the lot of em…
The Hase Times
Aarons prediction: After announcing, Thompson will quickly gain support, easily jumping to number two in the GOP standings, with McCain taking a hit in support. Then as the January primaries/caucuses roll around Thompson will have consecutive losses in all of the crucial states, with the possible exception of South Carolina. After that, the snowball effect will catch up to him, and Romney will walk away with the nomination. At the RNC convention in Minneapolis, Romney will announce (or at least offer) Thompson as his VP running mate, shoring up the crucial Southern vote.
The Jump Blog
He’s the bandwagon I’m gonna hop on (well, as soon as he gets it rolling).
Misunderestimation
Will he actually run? Will people vote for Fred Thompson? Could Fred Thompson the second-coming of Ronald Reagan? Will Law & Order’s ratings drop? I don’t know. What I do know is this already interesting presidential race just got more interesting.
Related Content by Sphere
More Blogs of War:
Mark Levin Interviews Fred Thompson
Fred Thompson’s Senate Record
Senator Fred Thompson’s Watershed Moment
Fred Thompson & Fox News Trade Jabs
Fred Thompson Explains Reagan Coalition - Conservatism to Mike Huckabee
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