All Agog Over Thompson
The former senator and veteran actor faces his audition for the role of a lifetime
Meantime, Thompson's opponents are ready to attack. They say he didn't accomplish much during eight years in the Senate. (He was elected in 1994 to the remaining two years of former Vice President Al Gore's unexpired Senate term and re-elected to a full term in 1996.) His fans say he never enjoyed being in Congress but did so as a form of public service. They point out that Thompson's commitment to government started much earlier: In 1973, at age 30, he was appointed minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, where he served until 1974.
Another line of criticism is that Thompson made large amounts of money lobbying in Washington before and after his time in the Senate—suggesting that he was more of an insider than he is willing to admit. Also, before serving in the Senate, he was a trial lawyer, which many conservatives consider little more than an ambulance chaser. Thompson will also be attacked for supporting the campaign-finance bill sponsored by McCain and Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, which remains unpopular among conservatives. Finally, the skeptics argue that he has no rationale for his candidacy. "He hasn't adequately explained why he wants to be president," says a senior strategist in a rival campaign. Nor has he clarified his main priorities if elected.
TV star. Thompson's surge is based partly on overwhelmingly positive news coverage that casts him as a fresh face, and partly on his fame as a film and TV actor. He has appeared in several movies, including In the Line of Fire, Die Hard 2, and The Hunt for Red October. He most recently played District Attorney Arthur Branch on TV's Law & Order series—a straight-talking, reassuring, tough-minded defender of the public.
What may help Thompson more than anything is rising voter dissatisfaction with the status quo in Washington. The latest CNN/Gallup Poll finds that confidence in Congress has collapsed amid anger among antiwar Democrats over U.S. involvement in Iraq and among conservatives over illegal immigration. Gallup also finds that only 24 percent of Americans approve of Congress's job performance, down 5 points in the past month. President Bush is similarly unpopular.
Disenchantment with both major parties has fueled media interest in an independent campaign for 2008—a notion that got a boost last week when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he was no longer a Republican. This set off speculation that he was paving the way for an independent candidacy for president next year.
In some ways, a Bloomberg candidacy and a Thompson run would be feeding off the same voter anger. Pollster Frank Luntz, who advised billionaire Ross Perot during his third-party presidential campaign in 1992, says each man could tap into deep dissatisfaction and portray himself as a reformer and a Washington outsider. "Democrats feel the White House isn't listening," says Luntz. "Republicans feel Congress isn't listening. Everyone is mad at something and looking for an alternative." That's one reason why Election 2008 is so volatile and why Thompson is doing so well. "He doesn't come across as a politician," Luntz says. That may be his most important asset of all.
Fred Thompson at a Glance
Pluses. Thompson looks and talks like a president. Conservatives like his views. The media boost him as "Reaganesque."
Minuses. Not very active as a senator, lags badly in fundraising, lacks experience as a national candidate.
The buzz. Will Fred flash and fade? That question is generating new excitement in the GOP race, but Thompson gives conservatives fresh hope for 2008.
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