My Impatience paying off?

I made a post out of frustration yesterday, asking Fred to "Shit or Get off the Pot."

I was rightly admonished by a fellow Fred Head, but was still a bit discouraged.

No more:

A round of applause, please, for former Virginia Sen. George Allen, who finally got likely GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson to hint when he plans his big announcement. Filling in for Richmond's WRVA morning host Jimmy Barrett, Allen just came out with it, asking the Law & Order star what's up.

Said the Fred, who's been testing the political waters: "Well, the water is pretty warm. I like the temperature a lot." He also told Allen, "It won't be very many more days" before he declares.

During the five-minute chat, Thompson addressed the complaints that he is taking too long to make up his mind.

"This is not an attempt to be cute or game the system," he promised. Thompson said instead that he's just working on more of an old school schedule, when candidates didn't announce until the fall before the election year.

And he said that running for president isn't something he's planned all his life. "I'm doing in a few months what people have taken a long, long time period to do," he said.

Okay.

Full Speed Ahead, Fred!

****UPDATE****

Fred will have a speech carried live on C-Span tonight at 6:00pm Central.

There is scuttlebutt afoot that he may just announce. Others with some amount of cred say that he will do so by video.

Stay tuned.

Fred and the question of money...

Many in the leftosphere and in the "Ron-Paul" osphere have been proclaiming the Fred Thompson campaign dead in the water, due to Thompson's raising "only" 3.5 million during the month of June.

But given that Fred is not yet an official candidate, was that amount really that deficient?

Not so, says the Arkansas Republican:

(1) In his first exploratory month, Thompson raised well over $3.5 million - more than 10 times what Giuliani did in his first month and about 3 times what McCain raised. Here’s the comparison to the other top three Republican candidates during the initial exploratory month (from the time they started taking money):
· Giuliani - total raised in first month (Nov. 15-Dec. 15): $258,660
· McCain - total raised in first month (Nov. 14-Dec. 14): $1,130,351
· Romney - raised more money in his first month, but largely because he organized his big-dollar donors ahead of time to give himself a bit splash and he loaned his committee at least $850,000 weeks before filing his statement of candidacy on Jan. 3.

(2) Under FEC rules, a candidate is not allowed to raise funds “in excess of what could reasonably be expected to be used for exploratory activities”. Thompson has raised an appropriate amount for an exploratory phase. Considering these rules, it is interesting that . . .
· One month ago, the DNC attacked Thompson (in the Politico) for potentially raising more money than he’d need for the exploratory period and said they’d “argue aggressively” against him. The DNC rolled out the hit piece at Daily Kos claiming that Thompson was “Raising Funds Beyond What You Need To "Explore"” and the liberal activist outlet CREW said Thompson “appears to have raised far more money than necessary…”
· After being attacked for raising “too much” money, Thompson is now being attacked for not spending his entire Exploratory focus on raising money.

(3) An inquiry to the Fred Thompson campaign revealed that they have not even used any direct mail or telephone fundraising and their expenditures have been very low meaning that an estimated 80% of funds will be available for the primary.

So, Ron-Paul-ites and DNC-- don't be so quick to turn out the lights, cause the Fred Thompson party is far from over.

As a matter of fact, it's only just begun.

One step closer.

This is what they mean by "clearing the decks".


Fred Thompson is giving up his post as D.A. on NBC's "Law & Order."

Thompson, a former Republican senator from Tennessee who has flirted with the idea of running for president but has yet to announce his candidacy, played District Attorney Arthur Branch on the long-running crime drama for the past five seasons.

"I've spoken to Fred today, and although he told me he has not made a firm decision about his political future, he felt that given the creative and scheduling constraints of the upcoming season, he asked to be released from his responsibilities to the show," "Law & Order" creator/executive producer Dick Wolf said Wednesday. "I will sincerely miss working with him on a regular basis, and I obviously wish him the best of luck with whatever the future holds."

The statement came hours after news reports indicated that Thompson will form a presidential committee this week.

Fred's raising funds!

So reports the USA Today:

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson hasn't formally announced he'll run for the Republican presidential nomination -- but today he did begin raising money for a prospective bid, USA TODAY Washington bureau chief Susan Page writes. She continues:

In a conference call with about 100 people -- many of whom have urged him to jump in the race -- Thompson asked for their help in raising funds for a testing-the-waters committee, which is likely to be formed next week. That money could be used for a campaign when and if he's ready to run.

"I'm not saying anything against any of the candidates, but I think he can fill the vacuum that has not been filled yet on the Republican side," Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. senator from Georgia who was on the call, says of Thompson. He predicts the actor and former senator "will be just like a magnet" who can attract conservative Democrats and Republicans.

The juggernaut solidifies...

From The Fix:

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) is growing more and more serious about a run for president, installing a former aide to President George H.W. Bush as his "campaign manager in waiting."

Tom Collamore, a former vice president of public affairs at Altria, has been leading the behind-the scenes organization efforts for a Thompson presidential candidacy and will be intimately involved when (not if) the former senator decides to announce a bid.

Collamore joined the Reagan administration in 1981 as special assistant to Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige. He was named staff secretary to Vice President George H.W. Bush in 1985 and was part of Bush's transition team when he won the White House in 1988. Collamore was then named assistant secretary of Commerce in 1989. In 1992, Collamore joined Philip Morris Cos., which became Altria in 2003.

The decision to put Collamore atop the Thompson campaign reflects a desire to have a learned Washington hand at the tiller -- even as Thompson is positioning himself as a conservative outsider in this contest. It also shows that Thompson will not seek simply to replicate the political network of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). While Frist is an informal adviser to Thompson, his campaign people have largely been kept out of the loop as Thompson prepares to make a run.

And that run will come none too soon:

...The buzz continues to grow that Thompson will indeed join the race sometime before the end of June. At last week's Republican debate in South Carolina, flyers were handed out in the media filing center that had a glossy picture of Thompson and touted endorsements from the likes of Reps. Gresham Barrett (SC.), Jeff Miller (Fla.), Don Manzullo (Ill.) and Steve Buyer (Ind.). The flyer was sponsored by the Draft Thompson effort.

Oh yeah... he's running!

There are many out there who have speculated that Fred Thompson won't give up a lucrative gig on "Law & Order" to run for President.

It just so happens that NBC execs beg to differ:

Does Fred Thompson have a future on "Law & Order"? Unlikely.

"It's pretty clear Fred will be leaving the cast," Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, told TV reporters Monday.

Questioned some more, Reilly revised the comment: "It's highly likely that Fred won't be back this year."

Hmmm. I think Thompson is outta there. Thompson is considering a run for president.

Umm hmm...

Fred will be on C-Span tomorrow night (5-4)

Set your TIVo to C-SPAN at 10:30pm CST tomorrow night (May 4th). Fred will be delivering the Keynote address at the Lincoln Club dinner in Orange County, California.

Fred '08 has the following:

How can we use this event to encourage the Senator to run?

• Email your friends and colleagues letting them know to tune in tomorrow night.
• Watch the speech live or video tape the speech
• After you have watched the speech, take a minute to digitally video record your thoughts on why we need Fred Thompson in the White House. Email either your video clip or your You Tube link to youtube@fred08.com.

Also consider:

• Hosting a Draft Fred Thompson House Party - Invite friends and family to join you for a pleasant dinner then sit with your guests and watch the Senator's speech. Following the speech, ask everyone to sign the petition asking Thompson to run online at www.fred08.com.

Make it a truly memorable evening by recording a digital video clip highlighting the house party with you and your guests expressing your support for the Senator.

Submit these clips through our YourTube4Fred site at www.fred08.com. We will highlight the most positive and encouraging clips we receive.

Thank you all you are doing and please keep helping us spread the word that America needs Fred Thompson in the White House!

Draft Fred Thompson 2008 Committee

Dean Rice, Treasurer

Fred Thompson...A man whose time has come!

h/t Air Congress

How Big is Fred's Support? As big as Texas!

So notes Elephantbiz, who cites Draft Fred Th0mpson:

The Draft Fred Thompson 2008 Committee today announced that 54 of 81 Texas State House Republicans and several Republican Texas State Senators have joined the growing effort to encourage former United States Senator Fred Thompson to seek the presidency. Texas Land Commissioner and Draft Committee leadership team member, Jerry Patterson, has spoken with each Legislator and found an increasingly strong desire to see Thompson become a candidate.

In another indication of growing support in Texas , a new independent poll conducted by Baselice & Associates shows Thompson tied for second place statewide with 19 percent of the vote. Senator John McCain also showed 19 percent and NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani led with 24 percent. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney held eight percent.

“These poll numbers reflect the enthusiasm I’m seeing in the Legislature and around the state. In Texas , the momentum in the race for president is clearly with Fred Thompson. If he enters this campaign, we can put him in the lead within 30 days”, said Patterson

Fred's Running!

Or at least the closest confirmation I've yet heard:

FRED THOMPSON IS RUNNING!:

While honing my MSM conventional-wisdom talking points at the unholy White House correspondentss dinner last night, I spotted the head of the six-foot-four would-be GOP candidate looming over the crowd and just for kicks I accosted him:

"Senator, I have three words for you," I said. "Tallest man wins."*

"I hope so!" he replied.

I declare it a confirmation.

[* OK not always--but usually!]

--Michael Crowley

Dick Morris: Run Fred, Run--NOW!

From Fox:

For everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven — even a time to declare one’s presidential candidacy. And, for Fred Thompson, the time is now!

Momentum has been building for Thompson in the past six weeks. If he announces his presidency run in the next few weeks, he will coast easily into a berth in the Republican finals against Rudy Giuliani. But if he delays — as he shows signs of wanting to do — he will miss the boat.

For many candidates, delay means that they don’t have to stand out and be targets until later in the game. But for Thompson, delay could be fatal. The major negative against the former Tennessee senator is that he lacks the heart or the fire in the belly to compete and win. With Hillary Clinton looming as the expected Democratic nominee, victory is of surpassing importance to the Republican primary electorate. Republicans will not nominate someone who they think is ambivalent about running.

I agree with Morris on this one. Fred is a strong candidate with strong values. It is my opinion that he has the wherewithall to, in Reaganesque fashion, rise above any mudslinging and be an effective candidate, and even more importantly, be an effective President!

The (Fred) Thompson juggernaut keeps on rolling

From Real Clear Politics:

First, there was Thompson's interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in March, which generated major buzz in the conservative blogosphere; next, the series of endorsements, most of them from Thompson's home state of Tennessee; then came Thompson's interview with Neil Cavuto disclosing his cancer, which he says is in remission. Thompson told Cavuto that he was announcing his cancer publicly because he wanted to see how it affected voters. That's one way to put it. Another way is that Thompson was doing the prerequisite "airing" of possible revelations that might hurt him on the campaign trail. And finally there was Saturday's Wall Street Journal op-ed in which Thompson embraced supply-side economics.

Add to this the relative despondency in conservative circles these days with the current crop of candidates and Wamp may be right that a Thompson candidacy isn't a matter of if but when.

Not only that, but Thompson's reception by GOPers on Capitol Hill was anything but lukewarm (login: Username: OptionalBugmenot, Password: FG9KTP25):

WASHINGTON -- The welcome for Fred Thompson wasn't just warm, it was effusive. The former Tennessee senator and actor is still weighing whether to run for the GOP presidential nomination but House Republicans who met with him Wednesday gushed over the prospects of Thompson candidacy.

They called him presidential, a leader, a proven conservative, an exciting prospect and "a breath of fresh air."

[SNIP]

Some 50 House Republicans attended the private meeting arranged by Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee, a Republican leading a draft-Thompson campaign.

Several lawmakers who were there said Thompson indicated that while he was seriously considering a candidacy, he had not decided whether to run. They said he talked about his life and answered questions. A handful of lawmakers said they encouraged him to run and told him they'd endorse him if he officially enters the race.

"He was called presidential, and he was. He was told he was electable, and he is," Wamp said.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., said: "there was a breath of fresh air in the room today," while Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., added: "he spoke as though he was a president." Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., said people are looking for a candidate with a proven conservative voting record and "Fred Thompson's the man."

The Grass Roots GOPers are still taking notice of Thompson:

In a Floyd County Republican Party straw poll, former senator Fred Thompson was the top choice for president — with 38.9 percent of the vote.

Thompson has not announced he is running for president.

Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker from Georgia, took second place with 30.5 percent and former New York mayor Rudy Guliani was third with 15.2 percent.

For once there appears to be a GOP Presidential candidate that both the Party machinery and its rank-and-file can agree on.

Run, Fred, Run!

Trip to D.C. signals Fred's intentions?

From McClatchy:

Why all the interest in a man who isn't even running?

"The other candidates are not getting the traction they need," Wamp said. "They've been out there already, and people are looking for an alternative. They're looking for a consistent conservative who is reliable and strong."

He said Thompson strikes a chord because he's a consistent conservative - against abortion and for tax cuts and the Pentagon. And he said Thompson has the Hollywood breeding and communications skills reminiscent of Ronald Reagan that help win elections.

Thompson has one professional and one personal hurdle to overcome before deciding to enter the race, Wamp said.

At work, he has to clear up contractual issues with the television show, which wouldn't be able to show reruns featuring him during the campaign. At home, he has to have the support of his family - a real requirement, given the reason he left politics.

But he already appears to be moving toward jumping in. Just last week, he wrote a column for The Wall Street Journal lauding tax cuts - always a popular plank in a Republican campaign. This week he meets with House Republicans. And in May, he's to give a major speech to the Lincoln Club of Orange County, California, long a bastion of California conservatism.

"There is a strong possibility he becomes a candidate," said Wamp. "This is not a flirtation. This is serious."

Not even close...

That's what you can say about all the GOP '08 Presidential hopefuls when compared with the likes of Fred Thompson:

Republican Fred Thompson, the target of several "draft Fred" for the White House campaigns, easily won a presidential poll conducted by the American Family Association.

The Alabama native was sent to the Senate after winning a 1994 special election in Tennessee to fill the unexpired term of Democrat Al Gore and was re-elected in 1996. He chose in 2002 not to seek re-election and has appeared in several Hollywood productions since.

In the new AFA poll, he collected 24,872 votes for president in a compilation taken just hours before the poll closed at midnight yesterday.

The runner-up was former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with 9,889 votes, while ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was third with 7,877.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was fourth with 6,154; John McCain fifth with 5,090; Mike Huckabee sixth with 3,179; Sam Brownback seventh with 3,051; Tom Tancredo eighth with 2,060; and Ron Paul ninth with 1,884.

The Conservatives are behind you, Fred!

You da man!

Fred Thompson--Right on Taxes...

Read his piece on OpinionJournal.com.

More on Fred's candidacy...

With respect to Fred's announcement today that he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2004, Bill Pascoe, who among other things worked on the Diana Irey campaign to try to unseat John Murtha, says:

"It doesn't take too much reading of the tea leaves to recognize that his acknowledgement is a house-cleaning on his part," Pascoe said. "I take that as a sign that he's gearing up to run. Why else would he choose to reveal that?" Pascoe said it's not too late for Thompson to get in the race, calling him "very Reagan-esque in a party looking for a 21st-century Reagan."

Look for much more of Fred Thompson in the not-too-distant future:

He has a slew of high-profile appearances coming up. On April 18, he is to meet privately with House Republicans interested in his candidacy. On May 4, he is slated to speak to the Lincoln Club of Orange County, Calif., one of the largest Republican organizations in the country.

The Politico has learned Thompson is likely to appear the night before the dinner on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno." In May, HBO Films will debut "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," featuring Thompson playing President Ulysses S. Grant, complete with Oval Office scenes. The film has a large promotional budget, a source said.

And the juggernaut rolls on!

Fred Thompson diagnosed with cancer in 2004.

After revealing to Fox News' Neil Cavuto that he was diagnosed with lymphoma more than two years ago, Fred Thompson maintains a "business as usual" approach.


"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't satisfied in my own mind as to the nature of it and the fact that not only will I have an average lifespan but in the meantime I will not be affected in anyway by it," Thompson said.


In a post at "Red State" blog, Thompson expressed optimism for a full recovery.


I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected. I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future--and with no debilitating side effects.

I am one of the lucky ones. There are many lucky ones today. And for all of our diversity, we share one thing in common--a deep appreciation for the fact that we live in the United States of America and have the best medicine and the best doctors the world has even known.

Leo adds:

Just as Thompson has been said to be able to melt steel, and that he's bald only because his hair is afraid of him, in a similar vein:

Fred Thompson--he's not in remission--even his cancer is afraid of him :o)

The good LORD is saving you for a purpose, Fred!

Run Fred, Run!

Fred Thompson's Conservative Credentials...

Mind you that this is coming from an MSM writer with extreme BDS:

Upon entering the Senate in 1994, having campaigned on a platform of campaign finance reform, term limits and lower congressional salaries and pay raises, he immediately set out to work on keeping his word to the voters. As a member of the Government Affairs Committee, he helped put into law the Congressional Accountability Act, a bill that subjected congressmen to the same labor laws as businesses, and worked unsuccessfully to enact a raft of ambitious reforms, including a constitutional amendment to establish term limits and legislation to overhaul the bloated budget process.

Although he continued to press for wide-reaching reform during the remainder of his Senate years, helping him retain the image of a commonsense, independent politician unafraid of ruffling some insider Beltway feathers to get the job done in the eyes of his constituency, when push came to shove and bills needed to be voted on, Thompson could always be counted on as a reliable vote for the Republicans. According to the non-partisan Project Vote Smart, Thompson stood toe-to-toe with a handful of colleagues on voting the Republican Party line most often, supporting Contract With America items 100 percent of the time. He did so by consistently voting to cut funding for education and welfare reform and to increase military spending, and by voting against pro-choice legislation and anti-gun bills. However, he also bucked party trends (and his supposedly reformist image) by opposing the banning of gift-giving by lobbyists and tort reform.

If you'll note the tone of Jacquot's tome, you'll see that he's actually complaining about the emboldened content of the latter paragraph. Like it's a bad thing, or something.

Other Republicans in this race have at one time or another been MSM darlings. Take McCain, or Hagel for instance, who have been "fawned over" time and time again, be it for witholding nominations for conservative judges, or parroting the dem party line on the Iraq war (of course, McCain has taken a MSM popularity hit as of late with his steadfast support of our war effort). When the MSM sycophantically labels a Republican "principled," or a "maverick," one must necessarily call to question such politicians' judgments.

But when the left complains about a Republican and his stance on issues, you know that man's gotta be doing something right!

Run Fred, Run!

Fred in too late?

Just hold your horses...

Elephant Biz, with the help of Glenn Reynolds and Ted Welch, provides a convincing argument why Fred Thompson still has time to file and still come out ahead of the pack.

President-Elect Fred Thompson?

Check out Bruce Walker's post.