The Nashville City Paper interviews a couple of national political pundits who don't think Fred Thompson has the drive to become president - and notes that some Tennessee Republicans, such as U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Brentwood) and John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Knoxville), have endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president.
Matt Lambert, a Blackburn spokesman, told the City Paper that Blackburn "remains committed to the Romney campaign as the Tennessee co-chair for Romney for President as well as the national committee co-chair for Women for Romney."
As for Duncan, he's open to switching horses...
From the Knoxville News-Sentinel:
U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Knoxville, endorsed Mitt Romney for president less than two weeks ago, but he says he instead will back Tennessee's Fred Thompson if he joins the fray. "If (former Sen.) Fred Thompson gets in there, then I definitely would support him," Duncan, a Republican, said in an interview. "He's been a long-time friend. I know him a whole lot better than I know (former Massachusetts) Gov. Romney."
That cracking sound you heard is the beginning of the crumbling of Romney's conservative support based on just the possibility of Fred Thompson running for president. Imagine how fast it will disappear if/when Thompson actually jumps into the race...
William Rusher at TownHall.com thinks Thompson's announcement represents a "major transformation" of the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. (Me: Yes it does.)
Thompson's announcement "is no minor development," Rusher says, noting that, Bob Beckel, Clinton's longtime press secretary and now a Democratic commentator for Fox, "promptly asserted that Thompson is the only possible Republican contender 'who scares me,' and he is right to worry.
It is a major development because Thompson has so many undeniable qualifications for the nomination. First and foremost, he is a true-blue conservative, comfortable with all the positions on social issues (abortion, gay rights, gun control, etc.) that give Rudy Giuliani so much difficulty and that have inspired John McCain and Mitt Romney to "flip-flop" in recent years to curry favor with social conservatives. In the second place, he is (as his television career demonstrates) an immensely attractive personality at 64, with a rumpled and thoughtful charm. Thirdly, his service for eight years in the U.S. Senate (four times Barack Obama's current tenure) attests to his success as a political leader. And finally, he hails from a border state -- Tennessee -- with all that implies for electability in the South and elsewhere.Blake Dvorak at Real Clear Politics thinks Sen. Thompson "hit all the right notes" during his Sunday television appearance.
My sense is that if you are conservative and were watching Fox News Sunday yesterday, you liked what you saw in former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. My sense is also that if you are a Republican presidential candidate, you didn't.But, says Dvorak, there are some issues - Thompson's support for the free speech-stifling McCain-Feingfold campaign finance reform law and his stance on immigration reform - that may cause problems for his presidential bid.Host Chris Wallace went down the litany of questions and Thompson hit all the right notes from a conservative voter's perspective: Pro-life; Scalia-like judges; against gay marriage; opposes gun control; would pardon Libby; and supports the President's surge in Iraq.
Thompson's record in the Senate from 1995 through 2002 sustained his answers: His lifetime American Conservative Union rating is 86 (out of 100) and his lifetime Americans for Democratic Action (the liberal quotient) rating is a measly 5. Add in his presence in front of the camera as well as his folksy way of speaking, and it's no wonder conservatives are pressing him to get into the race.
Columnist Doug Patton calls Thompson "arguably the most viable potential Republican candidate for President of the United States since Ronald Reagan. And for many of the same reasons."
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne thinks Thompson, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich or Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel are three "dark horse" candidates who could win the nomination:
The Hagel Hint and the Thompson Tease are disturbing news for former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in the polls. Giuliani's strength is as the remainder candidate. He is drawing support from Republicans who can't bring themselves to back the previous front-runner, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, or former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has a lot of party establishment support but hasn't made the sale because of too much obvious flip-flopping.Dionne's a liberal, so you can understand why he wants to boost Hagel, who is anti-war and therefore the kind of Republican liberals love. But Hagel has zero chance of winning the nomination - he is out of step with most Republicans on the most important issue of our day.
This should be an opening for the conservative dark horses, former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas. But they have been unable to fill the void on the right, perhaps because even traditionalist conservatives reluctantly sense, as Hagel does, that the old formulas aren't working.
New York Post writer John Podhoretz says "it would be foolish for anyone to dismiss the Thompson candidacy because of his career as a performer. He was and is one of the most intelligent and interesting people in American politics."
Podhoretz continues:
Two unconventional Republicans, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, are far ahead of the pack, and there's a sense abroad in the land that there's no authentic conservative in the race who has a chance of winning. In his appearance on Sunday, Thompson specifically declared himself pro-life and an opponent of gun control - two areas in which Rudy Giuliani takes an apostate's view, as far as the Republican base is concerned. ... It would be a terrific thing if Fred Thompson entered the race, because he's a big personality with a remarkable command of the issues and the kind of eloquence that we're only seeing right now from Barack Obama. A Republican primary with Giuliani, McCain and Thompson duking it out would be a battle of titans...
Who did Podhoretz omit from the battle if Thompson gets in?
Romney.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers! ElephantBiz.com has lots of stuff about Fred Thompson. Links to today's and yesterday's posts are below. Also, you are invited to subscribe to the ElephantBiz.com RSS feed for future updates on Thompson's possible presidential candidacy, the Republican presidential campaign and related political news news.
March 13 Updates:
Door Open For Fred Thompson as McCain Campaign Falters
Who Is Hopping on the Law & Order Express?
Romney Supporter: Run, Fred, Run!
March 12 Updates:
Fred Makes Folks Sit Up and Take Notice
Fred Thompson, China and Ted Turner
Frist Encourages Thompson Candidacy
The Surge that Will Transform the Republican Presidential Race
» What If The Right Said Fred? from ElephantBiz
Those rumors about Fred Thompson running for president just won't go away. Paul Bedard mentions it in the latest U.S. News:We hear that his buddies are strongly urging him to jump into the already packed GOP race. "The draft-Fred movement... [Read More]
Tracked on: March 13, 2007 6:51 AM | Permalink to Trackback