To kick off The Daily Fred for Wednesday, March 21, let's hear from Fred Thompson himself on the subject of illegal immigration. In his March 20 radio commentary for the Paul Harvey Show, Thompson stakes out a sensibly tough position on illegal immigration - and offers up some straightforward advice to the government of Mexico. Read it here, or listen to it here.
Also today...
New York Sun politics writer Ryan Sager says Thompson's "a threat to every candidate" for the Republican nomination, "but there's one candidate whose campaign he could end almost instantaneously, should he choose to run: that of Mr. Romney."
Mr. Thompson is pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay marriage, and anti-tax - like Mr. Romney. But he has one advantage over the former governor: He didn't just come to these positions over the last year or so, in a "Road to Des Moines" conversion.
On virtually every issue, Mr. Thompson is as far right, or further, than Mr. Romney, and he has been for some time. Mr. Romney's claim to fame so far in the campaign has been that he's the "true conservative" in the race - in contrast to Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain. If Mr. Thompson jumps in, however, the rationale behind Mr. Romney's candidacy drops out.
"Romney would want [Mr. Thompson] in the race the least," the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, Peter Brown, told me yesterday. According to Mr. Brown, Mr. Thompson "potentially has the profile that no other candidate in the race has yet demonstrated, to appeal to the mainstream conservative."
Mr. Romney is "trying to become that mainstream conservative," according to Mr. Brown, but he is failing. While Mr. Romney has low name recognition, it's clear from his favorable-unfavorable numbers that "the people who know him aren't that excited about him." To take just one recent poll, a Gallup survey released yesterday showed Mr. Romney's favorable-unfavorable rating among Republicans to be 32%-12%, with 56% not knowing enough to answer. That's a relatively high unfavorable rating for such an unknown candidate.
If Thompson runs, those who bet early on Romney bet on the wrong horse.
...The Tennesseans for Thompson blog has an interesting report from Reuben Watkins, who is running the pro-Fred website www.grassrootsvoter.com. Watkins says...
Just a quick progress report for all who have joined with us in supporting Fred Thompson For President. In just under a week, we have collected volunteer information from over 3,000 supporters in 44 states. I've been active in numerous Congressional, Senate and Advocacy campaigns over the years and have never seen anything like the outpouring of support we've seen for Fred Thompson this past week. It is easy to understand, but it is still remarkable to watch!
...Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review says that, like Ronald Reagan, Fred Thompson is a "great communicator," and says that if he runs, "his entry has the potential to shake up the race - and likely kill the chances for others who want to be the conservative standard-bearer."
...Mickey Kaus doesn't see Thompson as a viable presidential candidate because, Kaus thinks, he's isn't a great actor. Well, they derided Ronald Reagan as a "B" movie actor, and he managed to do okay in two national elections. As Pajamas Media puts it, Reagan "wasn't Laurence Olivier either."
...A.C. Kleinheider remains skeptical that Thompson will run, but Knoxville News Sentinel blogger Michael Silence says ACK "underestimates the groundswell for a Thompson run."
...Former House Speaker and possible presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, in speaking at Vanderbilt University, was asked about Thompson's possible candidacy. The Tennessean reports:
When asked about the possible candidacy of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, Gingrich stopped short of endorsing his former congressional colleague. "If Fred decides to run, he will be a very formidable candidate," Gingrich said. "He understands how to use television better than anybody currently in the race, and he has a solid conservative record."
...And, finally, Kathryn Lopez (again) says Thompson running for president would "liberate" Hollywood from the myth that all of Hollywood is populated by liberals, and "end the left-wing political monopoly in Hollywood."
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