As a Tennessee resident.....in a "what have you done for me" world....this guy is awesome.  He was a wonderful senator that did a lot for this state.  With so many cold war workers becoming sick and dying from exposure to birillium and other things while building bombs in the 60's in Oak Ridge.......the government not only denied this exposure, but destroyed medical records..

Thompson was head of the committee that ended up getting these families both apologies and compensation.   And on top of that ...he as accessible as a senator.

As for his presidential campaign.....I wish his heart had been in it...he was the man for the job.  But truth be known....he left the senate because politics weren't his thing....he dropped out the week before the TN primary....too bad!

oh yea....he can act too!

Fine actor, fine Senator.

There has been a boomlet as of late for former US Senator Fred Thompson's candidacy for President.  Much of the interest in Thompson can be directly connected to conservative dissatisfaction over the top three contenders.   So, is Thompson the moderate conservative that Republicans can rally around.  Probably not for a few reasons.

Yes, there is still space in the Republican field for a late entrant to make a difference.  But in order to do that, you need a candidate who has universal name appeal and can raise money quick.  Let's face it, in today's political environment, you need money and organization to win the nomination.  Some think that it will take $100 million just to win the nomination!  That is the major hinderance Thompson will face.  It is simply too late to enter the race.  The Senator hopes that using the internet to spread the word about his candidacy and raise cash will work for him, much like it did for Howard Dean 3 years ago.  However online politics has limitations:  politics is still all about pressing the flesh, tv ads, and working the newspaper boards.  Online politicking is used by younger voters, but older voters still rely on traditional means to get the word out about their candidacies--and older voters vote more...

That said, Thompson is articulate, calm and reassuring.  He can certainly play the role of President, and if he gets some positive press going, he might be able to make a difference in the race.  However, he is going to need to be more aggressive if he expects to mount an insurgent campaign.  While Giuliani, McCain, and Romney, the big 3, have some significant negatives, they still have a monopoly on news coverage, money, endorsements, and organization. 

Very likeable guy. Hard to say if he was a better actor or Senator. Pretty good at both, in my opinion.

Character actor elected to the Senate in 1994. In 2002, while still serving as a Senator, Thompson joined the cast of Law and Order. He left the Senate when his term expired in 2003.