Thanks to this post at ElephantBiz, it's now obvious that all current GOP candidates will blow away and Fred Thompson will step in to save the day.

OK it's not that obvious, but there are many admirers of the former senator from Tennessee, including this Web site.

Hotline on Call quotes the WH Bulletin:

Thompson, the former Tennessee Republican senator who's now a Law & Order prosecutor and regular replacement for radio host Paul Harvey, is being urged by supporters to consider entering the presidential race, according to associates. "The draft Fred movement is growing," says one ally. They say that Thompson is flattered by the suggestions, but it is unclear if he is turning away their appeals. The effort is growing among conservative blogs, where several boards are pushing the folksy straight-talker to get in.

But then throws cold water all over the idea:

Most importantly, Sen. John McCain is one of Thompson's best friends. They talk regularly. A source close to Thompson said that Thompson will not run for president, period.

But what if McCain faded?

Fred Thompson's presence at the Virginia GOP's annual commonwealth gala boosted attendance by nearly 70% over the year before, which shows that Fred Thompson is providing something else that the other candidates so farhave not: Energy.

I listened to the gabfest panel over on the Slate podcast this weekend (highly recommended) and one of their takes on Thompson was that he was a standard politician who looks good now but will sink back down to the single digits when the rush of newness is over. The rest of the panel thought he might do better than single digits, but none of them understood what was happening. Since the panel is various degrees of liberal, I think there might be a lot of confusion out there in liberalland about who Thompson is and why he's got the mojo right now.

It appears as though Fred Thompson is pleased with the response to his potential candidacy:

"It's pretty clear that Fred is going to be leaving the cast of the show no matter what," Reilly said at a news conference on NBC's fall schedule.

He later left the door slightly ajar by saying it was "highly unlikely" Thompson would be back. Thompson certainly wouldn't return to prime-time network television if he chooses to run, he said.

I can't think of any reason short of running for president that Thompson would leave the show.

I would expect him to hold out for a while longer while he continues his work at ABC Radio and other media outlets. Once he joins the race, he'll have to resign those jobs to avoid the screaming of equal time from the other candidates.

The appeal of Fred Thompson as a candidate will be huge and the Democrats know it. They've launched a pre-announcement salvo at Thompson's non-campaign campaign:

Democratic strategists say Thompson's populist style and show-biz allure could prove extremely appealing in a general election at a time when voters are so down on Washington. So the party has launched a preemptive campaign against him that includes a DNC fundraising e-mail branding Thompson, "The inside-outsider."

The gist of the Dem attack will be that Thompson is an insider who tries to portray himself as an outsider. They also are hitting him for his lack of legislation pushed through when he was a senator from Tennessee.

On the "outsider" issue: Thompson has not been in Washington in several years except to assist with the vetting of Supreme Court nominees. As far as I've read, he had no contacts worth mentioning with Jack Abramoff and Randy "Duke" Cunningham. As for Thompson's lack of bill introduction, Hillary Clinton has not exactly been a legislative machine while serving in the Senate and has more skeletons in her closet than Thompson. And Barack Obama is still too green to even level the charge.

US News is reporting today on Fred Thompson's public advocacy for Scooter Libby:

In a move that suggests he's not worried that backing convicted perjurer Lewis "Scooter" Libby will hurt his presidential chances, former Sen. Fred Thompson is planning to host several fundraisers to help the former Cheney aide pay his legal fees.

That's one way to put it. You might also say that Fred Thompson isn't actually running for president although he is the focus of an intense draft movement. One might also note that many many Republicans are in favor of a pardon and that this position actually helps Thompson's chances if he were running.

But it's also clear that Fred Thompson is closely connected to Libby and considers the whole thing a travesty from top to bottom. and has gone on record for a pardon of Libby. So whether or not he runs for president is clearly incidental. The previous AP report makes it clear that no decision will come sooner than this summer in any case.

What I wonder is that if Fred Thompson, with his newfound popularity and threat to enter the race, can move the other GOP candidates toward his position on a pardon for Libby. Giuliani is reportedly cool to the idea of a pardon and McCain has stayed mum.

It's an auspicious day for Fred Thompson supporters. Rasmussen has added him to their tracking poll.

The addition of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) to the list of candidates shakes up the race for the GOP Presidential nomination.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) remains on top, but his support dips below the 30% mark for the first time in seven weeks. With Thompson in the mix, Giuliani's support tumbles to 26%, down nine points from a week ago. That's the lowest level of support measured for Giuliani in any Rasmussen Reports poll this year.

Support for Arizona Senator John McCain remains steady at 16%, but McCain's hold on second place is threatened by Thompson. The movie star turned Senator turned TV star weighs in with 14% support among those likely to vote in a GOP primary. Among Very Conservative voters, Giuliani attracts 20% support followed closely by Thompson at 19%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 18% and McCain at 14%. (More Below)

Well. In the first 48 hours anyway. From The NY Sun:

According to the Thompson campaign, these are the results of the first 48 hours since they launched imwithfred.com and announced it on "Hannity & Colmes" after the GOP debate:

In 48 hours since the Web site launch (with no paid advertising, or pre-oorganized push by donor operation):

29,463 registered supporters

$352,323.00 in donations

3,360 contributors

Or: $7,340 an hour. If they could keep that up for a month (just as an admittedly silly mathematical exercise), they'd have $5.3 million by early July.

Even better, this is all money that John McCain needs to stay alive. It's an impressive start but even more than that it's a sign to the rest of the political establishment that Fred Thompson is real and it's definitely OK to align yourself with him.

Potential Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson announced this morning that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma two years ago, and is currently in remission. He says the cancer shouldn't affect his life expectancy. His oncologist says his prognosis is good.

Lymphoma is an immune-system cancer that strikes more than 71,000 Americans a year and kills more than 19,000 of them. The vast majority have the non-Hodgkin's form of lymphoma. Patients often go into remission for long periods, but the disease is not cured and may need to be battled again periodically. Overall, the five-year survival for the non-Hodgkin's group of lymphomas is 63 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

My guess is that this announcement means that Mr. Thompson is getting serious about a potential presidential run. I also think it will complicate such a run. It would certainly put a spotlight on whomever he selected as his running mate.

Previously on 'The Stump':
· Fred Thompson is Roaring
· Thompson Feeds the Fire
· Tracking Fred Thompson

Photo Credit: Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto. Watch the full Thompson interview today at 4PM ET.

To all of my fellow real Americans across the country, here's a hint: if you play one of us on TV, that's enough to fool the D.C. set. Fred Thompson, a man who has held the all-important positions of lobbyist and TV actor, is throwing his hat into the ring to run for the presidency. Already, he's playing us for fools. The Politico, in its coverage of Thompson's announcement, reports that Thompson will bring a red pick-up truck to Iowa and New Hampshire to play up his "folksy, populist appeal."

But you have to look harder to see the Beltway media report that this populist represented major economic powerhouses in advancing policy changes that helped lead to the S&L Meltdown of the early 1980's. But wait, it gets better.

When the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza follows Thompson's hiring decisions, he presents them in the same frame: a po-dunk D.C. outsider with the wisdom to hire experienced hands. In the case of his campaign manager, that "learned Washington hand" is Tom Collamore, "a former vice president of public affairs at Altria." Altria is the family-friendly name for Phillip Morris; VP of public affairs is probably a fancy name for tobacco lobbyist.

The closest Fred Thompson has come in a long time to the heartland is acting in Days of Thunder. But that won't stop the D.C. media that knows little better from repeatedly telling us that he's one of us. Here's a modest suggestion: weigh the evidence for yourself.

My colleague Nix wrote this morning about the L.A. Times poll that showed Fred Thompson in second behind Rudy Giuliani. Today, Rasmussen reports that the as yet undeclared candidate is now tied for the lead:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has to share his spot atop the field of Republican Presidential hopefuls this week. The newest face in the race, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, is now tied with Giuliani. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds each man earning support from 24% of likely Republican Primary voters. A week ago, Giuliani had a six percentage point lead over Thompson, 23% to 17%.

This is the first poll to show Thompson in the top spot. He's been consistently picking off supporters from John McCain (who is having fundraising difficulties of late) in the wake of the immigration bill debacle and has probably been bringing in those who were undecided and most-likely would have voted for Mitt Romney.

Expect the announcement that Thompson is running on Independence Day and the immediate groundswell will put him comfortably in the lead. I predict that Giuliani will still poll strongly with all but social conservatives. He'll remain in a good position to run as vice president with Thompson in the top spot. A Thompson/Giuliani ticket would be hard to beat and I suspect the Democrats know as much. There is no comparable ticket on the Dem side, including Hillary/Obama.

Thompson is a conservative -- both fiscally and on most social issues. Giuliani is a proven leader who will appeal to social moderates and temper the charges that will surely be tossed Thompson's way. They are both right on the immigration issue and both believe in a strong national defense. More importantly, they will both be very effective during the debates as Rudy has shown just how well he thinks on his feet. A Hillary/Fred Thompson debate is the dream match up of ideas and ideology. I believe Hillary will get beat badly when it comes to arguing conservative and liberal ideals.

Key data points from the latest article in The Politico:

• Thompson is going to talk to some OC people
• Had Lunch with Ed Gillespie (Former Republican National Committee chairman)
• Meeting House Republicans April 18th.
• And they are trying out a campaign theme:
  

If Thompson runs, he's likely to stress his willingness to take on the biggest issues, including nuclear proliferation and the entitlement crisis, advisers said. "People are disappointed that for the last two presidencies – almost 20 years now – we've seen people not held accountable and a cavalier attitude toward basic governmental responsibilities," said the person who has talked to Thompson.

All this adds up to a guy who is clearly Up To Something. And that something just might be upending the entire GOP race for the presidency. Helpfully Rudy Giuliani chipped in for Fred by nearly self-destructing over abortion this week.

OK, lots of people have taken pot shots at Jeri Thompson, calling her, among other things, a trophy wife. The standard reply to this rather sexist accusation is that, no, Jeri Thompson is no bimbo, in fact, she's a lawyer. Dozens of stories have run in major news outlets propagating this claim. Fox, the AP, the Chicago Tribune, London's The Independent, The National Review, the USA Today, even (gasp!) some writers at this very blog. It seems that everybody in the media was eager to defend Jeri's credentials as a smart, competent woman by stating that she practiced law.

The problem? Jeri Thompson isn't a lawyer. Where does this revelation come to us from? Well, the Washington Post got it straight from Thompson campaign spokeswoman Linda Rozett. Money quote:

"Jeri Thompson does not have a law degree."

As Nixguy pointed out earlier, Fred himself also chose this day to clear up the confusion by chatting with the National Review's Byron York. Funny that. Especially after all the ink that has been spilled assuring the public that Mrs. Thompson is a practicing lawyer. Guess it just slipped Fred's and Jeri's mind to correct the record until now.

From the Washington Wire, Fred Thompson's early stats:

Since midnight, some 13,195 people have registered at Thompson's Web site, and he's raked in more than $300,000 in online donations. The site has received 126,000 unique visitors and Thompson's 15-minute announcement video was seen 110,000 times, Thompson aides report.

Thompson's (newest) campaign manager Bill Lacy briefed reporters on the bus and said that he thinks the campaign is off to "a fabulous start."

Of course, considering his job, that's exactly what you would expect him to say. But there's no doubt that Fred is dominating the news cycle, as just a casual glance at the political sites and headlines will tell you. But is Fred just a flash in the pan that will burn brightly but far too quickly? Or does he have real staying power.

I do believe he's here to stay, but the buzz must translate into poll numbers, dollars, and volunteers. We'll know whether thats happened in a month or so. Snapshots of the first day of campaigning tell us that buzz has been achieved, but we already knew that.

Whenever I've written a post on Barack Obama, many readers who comment often say something like:

"There's a lot I admire about Obama, but he doesn't have enough experience to be president."

While this may seem like a substantive criticism, that we should require a resumé more in line with the likes of John McCain or Bill Richardson, I can't help but wonder whether the question of inexperience is nothing more than a tactic used to disqualify an eminently competent candidate.
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Well, over at The Daily Dish, one of Andrew Sullivan's readers makes an interesting point about another rising star: Fred Thompson. You see, when it comes the question of governmental experience, Thompson and Obama have served our country for nearly identical amounts of time. Why then have we yet to hear this worry about Thompson? Because he was on TV? So from now on, whenever you hear someone ponder Obama's inexperience, be sure to mention Thompson's as well.

For that matter, to those who categorically dismiss John Edwards because of his stint as a trial lawyer, you might suggest they also cross Thompson off the list. Yes, horror of horrors, he was one, too.

In what has to be the most inane op/ed I've read in months, the Washington Post does not attack Fred Thompson for his stand on the issues, no they hit him for his name. No, seriously:

In the swampy soup of hopefuls for the 2008 presidential election, there is a man with a funny name. (No, not that one.)

We're thinking of the one named Fred (Thompson).

Say it out loud. Do it. Fred. Fred. In the South, Fray-ud.

Fur-red-duh.

It has the tonal quality of something being dropped on the floor, something heavy and damp-ish.

Waterlogged paper towel.

Fred.

This drivel goes on for three entire Internet pages.

People get on bloggers such as myself for having no editors or filters, this woman wrote an entire opinion piece about the name "Fred." And yes, an editor in the stately offices of the WaPo allowed this to be printed in today's paper.