Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, a lawyer and actor who currently plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law & Order, is now doing radio commentary on the Paul Harvey show, which reaches 22 million listeners per week. Thompson's most recent commentary, republished in text and original audio at National Review's website, looks at the the defeatist attitude in Congress:

Is it really in our country’s best interest to signal to the enemy that they probably only have to wait us out a little longer because congressional determination to defeat them is crumbling? Doesn’t such a resolution further diminish our chances for success at the very time our soldiers are preparing to go into battle?

You can listen to the brief commentary here. (Click to listen or right-click to download).

Might Thompson be prepping for a presidential run? He says he isn't running, but perhaps he is, unconventionally, courting Republican conservatives in case that when the field clears later this year it becomes obvious that, of the three likely to still be in the race, neither Arizona Sen. John McCain nor former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has a chance at the conservative vote, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's support among social conservatives is brittle and based less on a love for Romney than on their distaste for the other two. In that scenario, a late entry by Thompson could rapidly erode Romney's support and likely take down McCain too as Thompson does well with moderates and independents.

America once elected a president whose resume included stints as an elected official, an actor and a radio commentator - twice, actually, the second time in a landslide. It's not impossible that they could have the chance to do so again.

Blogger Steven Bainbridge put it pretty well:

Fred Thompson's had an enviable career: successful lawyer, actor, Senator. Now he's a NRO columnist, weighing in on Bush's latest Iraq speech. Meanwhile, I keep thinking: the GOP did pretty well the last time it chose an actor to run for President. Why not go back to that well and draft Thompson? Compared to the leading choices - the flip-flopper, the old man who's probably a closet liberal, and the guy who probably can't win the nomination - Thompson looks pretty darn good.

Yes he does.