Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

The Daily Fred for Friday, March 23, 2007, starts with Kelvin Moxley, who served as Fred Thompson's policy analyst during Thompson's eight years in the Senate and now co-hosts a Knoxville radio show, who was invited by Knoxville News Sentinel blogger Michael Silence to write a piece about Thompson.

Moxley (that's him in the picture) did just that, explaining why Thompson should be president.

I have heard the arguments why Fred will not run: he doesn’t like to campaign; he doesn’t have the fire in his belly; he won't leave a great gig like Law and Order; it’s just a stunt to boost his speaking fees and profile on Law and Order; it goes on and on. But some of those arguments were the same ones that were raised when he first ran for the Senate. Other arguments assume a level of cynicism that is completely out of character for the guy for whom I worked for eight years. If ever there were an opportunity to grandstand, it was the U.S. Senate. He never did it.

The Fred Thompson I know first ran for the Senate out of a sense of duty and obligation. He left his law and acting career for the grind of the campaign and the office because he felt that the country was heading in the wrong direction and the Senate need more people in it who were there to do what was right and not just be a senator. ... I have more confidence in someone who seeks the office because of a sense of duty than someone who merely covets the office.

Read the whole thing.

And now, onto the rest of today's roundup...

...Ryan Sager reports that Thompson tied Mitt Romney in a new Quinnipiac poll of registered Republicans in Ohio taken just a few days after Thompson announced on Fox News Sunday that he is "going to leave the door open" to a run for president.  John McIntyre at Real Clear Politics comments: "The fact he immediately is drawing as much support as Romney highlights Romney's disappointing run to date as well as Thompson's potential to be a serious contender."

...The Draft Fred Thompson folks reports that they have signed up nearly 5,000 volunteers from all 50 states in just 12 days since Thompson's appearance on Fox News Sunday.

...Mona Charen says the current GOP field has an opening big enough for Thompson.

...A Chicago-area newspaper reader says "Tell Fred Thompson to please run."

...U.S. News political reporter Paul Bedard reports that, "in true Washington fashion, his foes have started a whispering campaign" against Thompson - but that friends of the former senator say Fred's in the race to win. Bedard says don't expect Thompson to announce he's running for quite some time.

...NationalJournal.com remarks that "the Fred Thompson/conservative blogger love fest continues unabate," and links to a piece by Hunter Baker at RedState who aks - and answers - the question, "What is that makes Thompson so attractive?"

...Blogger Matt Browner-Hamlin says Thompson's possible candidacy has frozen Chuck Hagel's plans.

...Former Thompson staffer Rob Huddleston says on his blog that he's increasingly convinced Thompson will run.

...A.C. Kleinheider has been publicly skeptical that Fred would run, but he's begun to change his tune. 

...Extreme Mortman recounts a bit of possibly prophetic dialogue in one of the more recent films Thompson appears in, Albert Brooks' Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.

That brings us to today's See Fred On Film feature: