Thompson To Take First Step Toward '08 Run

Sources Say Senator-Turned-Actor Will Form "Testing The Waters" Committee Next Week

(CBS/AP)  Fred Thompson, a former Republican senator from Tennessee and now an actor on "Law & Order," is methodically moving ahead with a likely presidential bid, several officials with knowledge of the plans said Wednesday.

An all-but-declared candidate for months, Thompson will establish an official organization next week to weigh a White House bid while launching his first major fundraising effort. He also may visit early primary states in late June and could officially enter the race as early as the first week in July, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans were not public.

Despite the movement, they cautioned that Thompson has made no final decision about whether to run or where and when to get in the race should he decide to go forward.

They said he is considering several options for a possible formal announcement, and that one scenario has him officially announcing his candidacy over the July 4 holiday. It's also possible, they said, that Thompson could wait until later in the summer to declare his intentions.

"Senator Thompson is still seriously considering getting into the presidential contest and he is doing everything he has to do to make that final decision," said Mark Corallo, a Thompson spokesman. "Stay tuned."

A summertime announcement has been widely expected and numerous signs have pointed to a Thompson candidacy, including his disclosure in April that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, but is in remission. Officials say it's more likely than not he will join a crowded GOP field that's led by Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

Thompson has been competitive with the top-tier trio in national popularity polls, which largely measure name recognition early in the campaign. He is well-known nationally for his acting role as gruff district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's long-running drama "Law & Order."

His expected entrance in the race could dramatically shake up the GOP field, but it's unclear exactly who among the top GOP candidates — Giuliani, McCain or Romney — would be affected the most by his candidacy.

Thompson has been casting himself as a straight-talking conservative in the mold of former President Reagan — even though as a senator, he took some positions that angered the party's base.

According to a CBS News/New York Times poll taken last week, just 38 percent of Republican primary voters said they were satisfied with their current choices while 57 percent said they wanted more options in the race.

While former New York City Mayor Giuliani led in that poll, there are concerns among Republicans. The poll found that less than half of GOP respondents said that Giuliani shares Republican values. Many in the party are upset with McCain, once viewed as the party’s front-runner, for co-sponsoring the immigration bill now under debate in the Senate. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has surged in surveys of late but is still less well known than many others in the field.

"Conservatives are looking for a candidate they can buy into," said CBSNews.com Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs, "and for the moment at least, Fred Thompson is filling that void."

[menofoz]

As the nation focused on whether Congress would exercise its constitutional duty to cut funding for the war, Bush quietly issued an unconstitutional bombshell that went virtually unnoticed by the corporate media.

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed on May 9, 2007, would place all governmental power in the hands of the President and effectively abolish the checks and balances in the Constitution.

If a "catastrophic emergency" - which could include a terrorist attack or a natural disaster - occurs, Bush's new directive says: "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government."


One wonders what Bush & Co. are setting up with the new Presidential Directive. What if, heaven forbid, some sort of catastrophic event were to occur just before the 2008 election? Bush could use this directive to suspend the election. This administration has gone to great lengths to remain in Iraq . It has built huge permanent military bases and pushed to privatize Iraq 's oil. Bush and Cheney may be unwilling to relinquish power to a successor administration.

In a November 2000 speech to the Federalist Society, then Judge Samuel Alito said the Constitution "makes the president the head of the executive branch, but it does more than that. The president has not just some executive powers, but the executive power -- the whole thing."

[menofoz]

More Tech Transfers To
China


Last December the administration gave the go ahead to sell China a state of the art nuclear reactor, which has a lot of technology applicable to China's growing nuclear powered fleet of ships. If the national security issue wasn't bad enough, the Bush White House decided the sale was going to be financed by the US taxpayer (Export-Import Bank), supposedly because it was going to mean "jobs for Americans." China has billions in reserves. Why do we continue to insist on giving China government loans?"

[gunnerv1]

The Libs are running!

[highthis]

This guy will work for this party and one can't help every one for every person. We need him and other people need to help him.

[elgraz]

Don't waste your time testing the waters amigo. You will drown.

[pepperp1]

Oh please, Thompson is a token being thrown to the Christian right so they will stay put and not roam or question the presidents and his fringe policies, the raping our treasury to the tune of 3 billion every two weeks, his failed Iraq war that is killing over 100 of our US soldiers a month and thousands of non Christian Iraqis, and all the while the beneficiaries of the war are his donors who he enables to pick our pockets of not only current but future tax revenues. It is also telling for those of you curious enough, that Roves protigi, an unqualified USA and Florida voting roll expert, is joining the Thompson team as an adviser, and that Thompson big issue is anti amnesty for illegal along with Lou Dobbs another rightie carry the water for the repubs dogma. Wake up, this Administration dose not want immigration reform, its is a manipulation to put the discussion in the national forum, so folks like Thompson and venerable rebus in Congress have something other than Iraq to attack and keep the base focused elsewhere and what better than another group of people for them to hate, last time it was *** before that Blacks before the red threat Communist they conned you into fearing and voting against, how many times can you people be played with the same fiddle?

[gwagener]

Giuliani's prostate cancer was caught early enough and McCain's melinoma was cut out of his face. So they are not disqualified, but Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma isn't even close to a gray area. He is disqualified. I know, my mother died of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

[gwagener]

The survival rate for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is:
5 Year 53%
10 year 43%
15 year 37%
It is ridiculous for him to waste our time and his donor's money with a run when he is disqualified.

http://www.lymphomation.org/statistics.htm

[tibu987]

Freddy, Freddy, Freddy.
What this country does not need is another actor for president.
Still it looks good on the resume doesn't it, even a failed run which of course it will be.
Freddy, keep your day job in the the phony world of television.
Sheeeeeeesh!

[oxmyx-2009]

Lymphoma and he was a lobbyist for 18 years-the lowest form of life. No thanks.

[forthepeopl1]

JULY 21 2007 IS WHEN AMERICANS WILL BE FREE AGAIN

EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..

I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.

AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..

DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,[e-mail]

ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION


they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..

just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..


if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!

its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..

they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out

[stevepdx1]

Just to point out - Fred Thompson has lymphoma AND he has 2 small children - ages 3 and 7 months.

So, for all you rightwingers out there who criticized John Ewdwars for staying in the race when Elizabeth's cancer returned, I have a question:

Are you now going to attack Thompson and tell him to drop out? after all he is no spring chicken and has lymphoma. Doesn't he want to spend the time he has watching his kids grow up and not running for office?

Or are you going to rethink your position on Edwards and perhaps give him credit for taking on the task of running while he and his family face adversity?

just wondering...

[jsilver2th]

As a candidate I bet this one looks better in the box-

[acauble1]

If Fred Thompson decided to run and became the GOP nominee, I think even Jesse Jackson would have a chance to win on the Democrat ticket!

FT is a hard right conservative. Just an older and much better spoken version of George W. Bush!

America could not survive with four more years of that kind of politics.

[uncle_james-2009]

It's got to be troubling for the President when he still had more than two years to serve and people started talking about impeachment proceedings and throwing him out of office! He's either a good President, doing a good imitation of a bad President or he's a bad President, doing a good imitation of a good President. You decide!

[iceman_1960]

"He glows with honesty."

Could be the radiation treatments. You never know.

[noplace2poop]

I don't see a Republican President in office for at least 20 more years. So many old people disagree with George's war and so many young people disagree with George's war that he's permanently stained what little reputation the Republicans might have had previous to the start of this occupation of Iraq. But the people who are making money from this war are amassing such huge, ENORMOUS fortunes that they'll have enough money to supply their great, great, great grand children with glamorous homes and cars and hundreds of acres of land. (The list of beneficiaries could very well be augmented to include their aunts and uncles and other close relatives for many, many generations to come.)

It doesn't matter which party is elected because they both are capable of starting wars! When I was little, the Dems started the war and the Republicans brought the troops home.

[iceman_1960]

The Republicans might as well nominate Daffy Duck, for all the chance they're going to have in November 2008.

There is no sleight-of-hand that the GOP will employ, to walk away from the disasters of the Bush administration -- not even holding their debates in the Reagan Library. (As Conan O'Brien noted, if you want to disassociate yourself with Bush, going to a library is your best bet.)

All bets are off if they nominate Ron Paul (they won't) or Chuck Hagel (he isn't running.)

[bgd777]

In my opinion Mr. Fred Thompson has everything it takes to be our next president. He has excellent communication skills and he glows with honesty. Is he another great communicator? Only time will answer that questions.

It has been said many times you can%u2019t please all the people all the time. (A twist on the real question.) This is a true statement. Regardless there will be many who will argue regardless who is elected. With Mr. Thompson we will have a communicator that most of the population will trust.

For those who would slander this man I say only look at his record. It speaks volumes about what Fred Thompson stands for. Open the book and read about him and anyone doing so will only gain great respect for him. Put others to the same standard and there may only be one other that will come close. Honesty is what jumps out in all of his actions.

It would be an honor to call Mr. Fred Thompson Mr. President. He would do honor that office!

[stevepdx1]

actually, the more I think about it, a Fred Thompson nomination would not be a bad thing for the democrats. It takes the "experience" factor off the table. How can the repubs argue that Edwards or even Obama lack experience when Thompson had a relatively uneventful 8 years in the senate, most of which was served in the mid-1990s?