Fred Thompson

[zarq]

Lawyer turned Lobbyist turned Character Actor turned Senator Fred Thompson (Law & Order, The Hunt for Red October) has declared his candidacy for President. Thompson's a Ronald Reagan-esque New Federalist, (think a limited Federal government managing strong, autonomous state governments -- see The Federalist Papers for the fundamentals, as well as

Comments

[zarq]

I think this race just became a lot more interesting. He is more instantly recognizable and has a superficially better reputation than any of the current candidates on either side of the aisle. The fact that he was a lawyer during the Watergate trial will also play well for him.

The question is, will Americans vote for someone who is basically a younger version of Ronald Reagan? His stance on the major issues is pure Republican and he has a depth that Giuliani lacks.

The anti-choice stance is a non-starter for me. I refuse to vote for anyone who's against abortion. But I bet he's gonna appeal to a LOT of people.

[zarq]

I'm all for a smaller, less-invasive Federal government in theory, so that aspect of his New Federalist position appeals to me. But I'm not in line with his positions on pretty much all of the other hot-button issues.

I've seen him act. He's pretty good at it. But I don't want another professional actor in the White House.

I'm becoming less enamored with the Democrats with each passing day. None of them seem to have anything meaningful to say. Obama, Edwards and Hillary C are good at spouting charismatic sound bites, but none of them are saying anything meaty. I wish they'd show me something I could sink my teeth into that won't make me want to hit my head against the desk.

I'll see what happens over the next few months. It's doubtful that I'd vote Republican, but right now, I'm really quite disgusted by what the Dems are doing (or, to be more accurate, FAILING to do,) in Congress.

[luna_k]

Fred Thompson's positions represent just about everything I'm against. I like him just fine on Law & Order, but shudder to think of him as our next president.

Sidenote: It never fails to amaze me how conservatives say stuff like "Hollywood values" and whatnot, yet all the actors that turn into politicians seem to be Republicans. Reagan, Sonny Bono, Schwarzennager, Thompson, etc.

[chaptal]

Hey you forgot Fred Grandy!

I've noticed athletes do the same. Jim Bunning, Steve Largent...

[zarq]

http://www.hofmag.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=30

[luna_k]

Oooh, I'm totally bookmarking that.

[stilldocked_too]

But...

He has shown that he can be a leader of men (Hunt for Red October) and that is can be tough but fair in the criminal justice realm (L & O).

Plus, he has embraced youth culture (his wife is like 16, right?) and has lived an otherwise perfect life.

He is the man for the future.

BWAH!

[zarq]

Except (and I'm sorry to rain on your perfect analogy,) he does have an incurable strain of cancer. So his future may be limited.