The Tennessean rounds up some Tennessee reaction to Fred Thompson becoming a presidential candidate, including what's happening in his hometown of Lawrenceburg:
In Thompson's hometown of Lawrenceburg, a group of locals formed a steering committee two weeks ago to prepare the town for his run. Townsfolk hope their former son makes his official announcement on the town square, the site of the former courthouse where Thompson began his career as a lawyer.
The steering committee will meet this week, and a meeting of volunteers is scheduled June 14 to enlist help in sprucing up the town in anticipation of the national media attention — whether the announcement is made there or not. Someone already started pressure-washing the sidewalks downtown earlier this week.
"We're fixing up, cleaning up our community," said Cromer Smotherman, 81, a community leader who has known Thompson's family for more than 50 years. "We want our community to be very attractive when our favorite son announces his candidacy."
The story reports that the Draft Fred website, www.fred08.com, has attracted more than 40,000 signatures since it was launched in late March.
The paper also serves up an info-graphic comparing Thompson, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney on the issues of abortion, gay marriage, global warming, immigration and Iraq, though not on minor issues like taxing and spending.
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