Something about Fred: Thompson catches GOP eye

From Candy Crowley
CNN

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ten Republicans running for president seems like nine more than needed. So what's the deal with Fred Thompson -- why all this talk about adding one more to the pack?

According to the non-campaign, the Thompson for President bandwagon includes a number of former Reagan types who are putting together a meeting with the former senator to discuss issues.

And the non-candidate is already polling ahead of actual candidate Mitt Romney -- Thompson's in third place, behind Rudy Giuliani and John McCain with 13 percent to Romney's 10 percent and the 9 percent of another non-candidate, former Georgia congressman and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

A small cadre of unofficial Thompson advisers reads that as dissatisfaction with the current lineup of choices.

"Frankly, people are so hungry for this race that the feedback that I am getting ... is 'When? When can we go, when can we start?'" said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tennessee.

But outside Thompsonville, they think it's more like high school dating -- you want the one you don't have.

"At this stage in the process, it's unlikely that a party, particularly a party that's struggling a little bit as Republicans are right now, is going to look at any of their candidates and say, 'Oh, that's our savior,'" said former Rep. Vin Weber, a Romney supporter. "So the guy that's not in the race tends to look a little better."

Weber and McCain supporter Charlie Black say a Thompson campaign would have a lot of distance to make up in a late start for the presidency.

"Starting this late, it's going to be hard to raise the money and create the political organization to catch up with several of the other candidates, but you know Fred's a well-qualified, credible candidate if he becomes one," said Black.

Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's "Law & Order" shows, has done little to dissuade his fan base. He is the '08 tease, on the blogs with his thoughts, on radio with his commentary, and on TV with his day job.

And in California's Orange County -- at the Lincoln Club, AKA rich Republican territory -- he was talking Republican stuff like small government and muscular foreign policy.

"Even if we won't be going around in the woods trying to find any bears to kill, sometimes the bear visits whether you're looking for him or not," he said at a recent speech.

In fact, there's little substantive difference between Thompson's positions and those of McCain, the senator from Arizona. Except that Thompson is often described as Reaganesque, which is all you have to say to make Republicans swoon.

Still, in his Orange County debut, Thompson got panned as uninspiring. His people say it wasn't meant as a barnburner but a serious discussion. Besides, even with a bad performance, there's still something about Fred.

"Despite the fact that it was a kind of rambling speech, despite the fact that it didn't maybe make the crowd stand up and applaud him, he has got the voice, he has got the stature and the size and the presence," said Washington Post political reporter Mike Shear.

Which is to say, he looks the part -- something Thompsonites play on. And most everyone thinks he will accept the role sometime this summer.