FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! (*UPDATED)

And now, what we've all been waiting for:


Fred Dalton Thompson will tell his supporters that he is running for president today in a 4 p.m. conference call with 800 to 1,000 elected and party officials from around the country, a source close to the campaign said today.

On the call, Thompson will detail his plans for the future, which are expected to include an appearance on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" on Wednesday night -- even as his rivals debate on Fox -- and could be followed by a formal announcement the next day.

The confirmation of Thompson's plans end a months-long flirtation with the public about whether the former senator and Hollywood actor would seek the Republican nomination for the presidency.


UPDATE: Campaign officials now say there will not be a 4:30 conference call for the media. Rather, the campaign will put out information for the press in a statement. Stay tuned for details later this afternoon.

Leo Adds: It would appear that Thompson will be formally announcing one week from today (Thursday, Sept 6th)

The former Republican senator and “Law & Order” actor will release an announcement video on Thompson’s Web site, in the morning and then follow up the big news with a five-day tour of early primary states. The Associated Press is reporting that the tour will conclude with a big homecoming event in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., on Sept. 15.

The Sept. 6, announcement comes the day after the rest of the Republican field is participating in a debate in New Hampshire. Mr. Thompson is to appear on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that night instead.

Full speed ahead, Fred!

Should the MSM figure into "Campaign Finance Reform"?

Why not, since they act as an unpaid political arm of the democrat party, and in effect create millions of dollars in free advertising of their talking points.

Newsbusters notes:

Such was identified by Steve Hill of Target Rich Environment who brilliantly outlined the similarities between an e-mail message he received Friday from the Democratic National Committee chairman (complete text with timestamp and e-mail address to follow) with an Associated Press article published Tuesday at CNN.com (emphasis added throughout):

1. DNC talking point: “In his most recent stint in Washington, Thompson worked for a London company lobbying Congress to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. Over the past three years he’s made $760,000 fighting for the interests of his corporate clients.

“AP/CNN talking point: ”More recently, while Frist led the Senate, Thompson earned more than $750,000 lobbying for a British reinsurance company that wanted to limit its liability from asbestos lawsuits.

2. DNC Talking Point: “And just this month, as part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby’s legal defense fund. Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would “absolutely” pardon him.”

AP/CNN Talking Point: “Thompson also helped run the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Fund Trust, an organization that set out to raise more than $5 million to help finance the legal defense of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.”

3. DNC Talking Point: “For years, acting wasn’t the Law & Order star’s profession — it was a hobby. In the real world, Thompson has made a fortune in a decades-long career as a Washington lobbyist.”

AP/CNN Talking Point: “Republican Fred Thompson, who likes to cast himself in the role of Washington outsider, has a long history as a political insider who earned more than $1 million lobbying the federal government.”

4. DNC Talking Point: “Although the folksy-sounding Tennessean recently told USA TODAY that he would run an outsider, just as he did while campaigning as a “country lawyer” in a red pickup during his 1994 U.S. Senate race, his résumé is that of a longtime Washington operative who has crossed ideological lines to represent corporate and foreign clients.”

AP/CNN Talking Point: “That history as a Washington insider is at odds with the image Thompson has sought to convey to voters. When he first ran for the Senate in 1993, Thompson cast himself in the part of the gruff, plainspoken everyman, leased a red pickup truck and drove around Tennessee in his shirt sleeves.”

Now, go to Newsbusters and check out the accompanying DNC email correspondences.

The democrats and the MSM seem to be expending a lot of effort to pre-emptively smear a yet-to-be announced candidate.

Why is it, you suppose, that this is the case?

Could it be because they know that Fred can win?

The Big Announcement set for next week!

The long awaited announcement of Fred's candidacy may finally take place:


A source close to the campaign planning tells WSMV that that Thompson planned to announce his candidacy on the steps of the historic Fall School Building Tuesday, but Thompson campaign officials deny that Tuesday's announcement is an official run for the White House.

The source tells WSMV report says that the Thompson campaign has obtained the lease for that building to turn it into a national campaign office.

"Everything's in place for Tuesday," the source told WSMV. "There are three major events built around his announcement." But Bob Davis, the Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, and Thompson's former Chief of Staff says "There will not be an annoucement Tuesday."

A Q&A with Fred.

Fred Thompson in an AP "Q&A" interview.

Watch video here.

Moore challenges Thompson to debate.

Propagandist Filmmaker Michael Moore has responded to Thompson’s criticism of his trip to Cuba.


In your May 2, 2007 National Review article, "Paradise Island," you specifically raised concerns about whether my trip to Cuba with 9/11 heroes, who have suffered serious health problems as a result of their exposure to toxic substances at Ground Zero that have gone untreated was somehow going to support Castro and the Cuban government.


Moore blathered on and then ended his letter to Thompson by challenging him to a debate.

Thompson responded via video.

Thompson sounding more and more like a candidate.

It seems to be a matter of when, not if, Fred Thompson will declare his candidacy.

Personally, I'm hoping he jumps into the fray soon!!


Fred Thompson isn't officially in the race for the Republican nomination yet, but the former Tennessee Senator and "Law & Order" star is sounding a lot like a candidate.

"If I didn't think I could win in November I wouldn't think about it," Thomspon said in an interview with Scott Baker for Breitbart.tv.

Thompson said he "had some thoughts" about when he might officially jump into the crowded field of Republican candidates, but he said he wasn't "ready to talk about that too much."

But, if he commits to running for president, Thompson said he will not do it halfway.

"I'm not interested in winning a primary and losing in November," he said in the Breitbart.tv interview. "I'm not interested in being the tallest midget in the room."


I think Thompson was smart in waiting until after the first GOP debate, which took place last Thursday evening. This will allow some candidates to fall by the wayside (i.e. Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson, Tom Tancredo) and give Republican voters a clearer choice of whom to support. With 10 candidates currently in the mix, it's a little overwhelming for the average voter.

The smart money calls for an announcement in June or July.

Fred Thompson takes it to the Big Apple!

Fred Thompson is taking Mrs. Bill Clinton's stronghold of New York City by storm!

May 1, 2007, 6:45 pm

Shh…Thompson Hits New York

By Michael Cooper

We were told by spies for The Caucus that Fred D. Thompson was taking his stealth campaign for president here to New York, the media capital of the world. The venue? The St. Regis Hotel, for an event sponsored by Guggenheim Advisors, the giant hedge fund, where Mr. Thompson and Lawrence B. Lindsey were slated to deliver an “economic policy and national security briefing.”

Not only that, but Thompson is on Hannity now (8pm central) as I type this. His interview will be replayed tonight at 11pm Central!

***UPDATE***

Fox News has posted the video.

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!

Fred Thompson a bane to the religious right?

I don't think so.

Unannounced presidential candidate Fred Thompson easily leads all announced candidates in an online poll by the American Family Association, one of the nation’s leading conservative Christian and pro-family groups.

In the ongoing poll, Thompson had collected 17,280 votes by Thursday afternoon, with another unannounced candidate, Newt Gingrich, behind at 6,857 votes.

The former Tennessee senator and actor Thompson, who disclosed on Wednesday that he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of cancer, hasn’t yet decided if he will run for president in 2008.

Mitt Romney led the announced Republican candidates with 5,219 votes, ahead of Rudy Giuliani (4,313), John McCain (3,559) and Mike Huckabee (2,235). Sam Brownback led the other GOP candidates with 2,021 votes.

Roll on, Fred!

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!