Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

Here's the MSNBC video report of Fred Thompson's preparations to run for president. And here's the text version of the story by MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd. Interesting point from the video: Todd points out that there is as much as $25 million in possible contributions from people who donated to the Bush campaigns that hasn't yet been committed to any in the current GOP field.

Are those donors sitting on their checkbooks, waiting for Thompson?

Todd writes:

If there was ever a time for GOP candidate to come out of nowhere and compete for the nomination, it's now. According to the most recent NBC/WSJ poll, just 53% of Republicans are satisfied with their presidential choices (compared with 78% of Democrats who say they are).

In addition, as Business Week reported, there is plenty of uncommitted GOP Ranger/Pioneer money out there for Thompson to gobble up (many of whom were on a conference call yesterday with Thompson).

And what's not to like about a plainspoken Southerner who happens to be famous and who hasn't had ties to Washington or the Iraq war since he left Congress in 2002?

Remember, there is no top-notch southerner in the race (sorry Mike Huckabee) and the South is the geographic base of the GOP.

A year ago, the assumption was either Bill Frist of Tennessee or George Allen of Virginia would fill the Southern conservative vacuum.

With both Allen and Frist out, Thompson can now claim the Southern mantle.

South Carolina and Florida are looking like they will be the two most decisive primary contests for the GOP, giving Thompson a gigantic geographic advantage.

More importantly, the current frontrunners have had a hard time unifying the three wings of the GOP: social conservatives, economic conservatives and national security conservatives.

Thompson, as of now, is seen by some as best positioned to be the guy who can keep this conservative coalition together.

More from Todd on Thompson's possible fundraising base:

In the first quarter, by our estimation, some $25 million in Bush '04 money didn't go to any GOP candidate. This is the base of money Thompson may start with. According to two sources, of the 100+ people who were on Tuesday's conference call with Thompson, about 15-20 of them were the famed Bush "pioneers or rangers," fundraisers who raised Bush $100K-$250K in either '00 or '04.

Todd says Thompson's entry into the race "puts [Newt] Gingrich's viability in question."