Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

The Daily Fred for Tuesday, April 17, 2007, starts with an article in CQ Weekly looking at Fred Thompson's free-media edge as a non-official candidate for president.

Sure, the Beltway insiders rooting for a Thompson bid are fretting about his non-existent campaign infrastructure, his lack of fundraising and his relatively "late" interest in the nomination, even though it won’t be awarded for another 16 months. But some are also confident that Thompson is ideally positioned with the 9.3 million viewers for new "Law & Order" installments every week - at least until May, when his contract expires. On top of that, he can continue to belt out commentaries on the Paul Harvey radio show, which has 15 million listeners. And so long as he’s undeclared, neither outlet will face thorny equal time provisions that limit TV exposure for announced presidential contenders.

“Those two shows combined are a direct communication to millions and millions of Americans without spending any money” from a campaign treasury, says Rep. Zach Wamp, a fellow Tennessee Republican who’s pushing hard for Thompson to run. “When people see him as a candidate, they may not remember him as a senator, but they’ll say, ‘I remember that face. I remember that voice.’ ”

“We like people we know,” says Howard Bragman, who runs the Hollywood publicity firm Fifteen Minutes and whose clients have included Paula Abdul and StevieWonder. “We don’t have the ability to separate the character from the real person, and that works for Fred Thompson.”

Also liking Fred: Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, who writes, "I have no idea whether Fred Thompson, former senator from Tennessee, will run for the Republican nomination for president, but he should." Thomas continues...

He has Ronald Reagan's communication skills and speaks plainly in ways most people can understand. Anyone who has listened to him substitute for Paul Harvey on ABC News Radio senses that, in this, he follows in Reagan's footsteps. Radio is an intimate medium. People who are able to connect with a radio audience often can connect on TV and in person. Thompson, the actor, plays other people. On radio and in news interviews, he "plays" himself.

Thompson conveys Middle American, common sense values. When he is asked a question, he doesn't sound as if he's giving a poll-tested pabulum answer. Agree or not, his statements spring from conviction. 

Now, on to the rest of today's Daily Fred... 

...According to The Hill, some state-level politicos in Georgia are waiting for Fred Thompson and/or Newt Gingrich to enter the presidential race.

...Speaking of that, Georgia political blogger Chris Farris has launched a new website, Georgians for Fred Thompson. Farris says Georgians for Fred Thompson is "dedicated to building a grassroots machine to get Sen. Thompson to run for President" because America "needs a leader who shares and can articulate the American Ideal of limited government, individual freedom and a strong defense." 

...Blogger "The Anonymous Guy" at Dullard Mush is tracking the number of blog mentions each presidential candidate and prospective candidate is getting each week. Moving up into fourth place last week: Fred Thompson.

...more to come...