Memo to Mitt Romney

This article by Thomas Lifson at AmericanThinker.com requires no comments from me.

Writing in the subscription-only Political Diary at Opinionjournal.com, John Fund recounts a moment from the weekend's White House Correspondents' Dinner that suggests our own J. Peter Mulhern is once again way ahead of the pack. Last month, Peter wrote a "Memo to Mitt":

No doubt the latest Gallup Poll came as a shock to you, Governor. It must be very disappointing after all your hard work to have a guy like Fred Thompson eating your lunch as soon as he mentions in passing that he might consider giving serious thought to the possibility of studying a run for the White House. It's time to review your options and your party's. [snip]

Get Fred on the horn and offer an alliance. Offer to run for Vice President as his running mate. A Thompson-Romney team would probably sweep all the competition for the Republican nomination aside.

Senator Thompson, who is sixty-four years old, might very well have no interest in serving more than one term as President, which would make this arrangement particularly advantageous for you.

Fred Thompson Making Waves in Louisiana

Today I have been overwhelmed by the number of articles from various states discussing the Fred Thompson for President campaign. This article reviels the growing concern of politicans who are conservative and they jumped out to endorse Giuliani or Romney who have very social liberal pasts.

Rudy Giuliani is the tough guy...What's not to like?

Plenty, for conservatives. That's why hard-liners are questioning Giuliani's ambitions. He's sideways on key traditional Republican issues--abortion, gay rights and gun control--and he doesn't fit into the evangelical formula crafted by President Bush and political consultant Karl Rove.

Despite those obstacles, the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg all-GOP poll shows Giuliani clocking in at 29%, compared to 15% for former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee--who's not even in the race--and 12% for Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Two of Louisiana's top conservative voices--U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany of Lafayette and U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Metairie--have officially endorsed Giuliani, with caveats that they support the man but not necessarily his message. And a lot of Cajun Catholics in South Louisiana and fundamentalists farther north aren't happy.

"I'm disappointed and outraged," says the Rev. Gene Mills, executive director of Louisiana Family Forum, an epicenter for Christian public policy work. "Boustany and Vitter ran on a pro-life platform with traditional values and built a constituency based on those beliefs. Rudy hasn't stood on those platforms.

"[The endorsement] was premature and ill-advised. The whole race could implode at any time."

Why would Boustany and Vitter, who is Giuliani's campaign chairman for southern states, take such a leap? They'd better hope the payoff is worth the gamble, waging their reputations on a Big Apple Republican maverick.

During the past two election cycles, Louisiana's GOP congressional delegation has been a one-horse bunch. They were loyal to President Bush, backing him wholeheartedly and without fear. With no vice president in the field and no heir apparent, this is a different race.

Congressmen Jim McCrery of Shreveport and Rodney Alexander of Quitman have endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Mormon who recently cleared $23 million in the latest election cycle compared to Giuliani's $15 million.

While Richard Baker of Baton Rouge has yet to place his bet, gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal of Kenner could stay away from the track altogether.

"The campaign I'm focused on is my campaign to bring Louisiana voters the fresh start for our state they're demanding," Jindal says.

Baker, however, could make an endorsement later this year. He has taken several meetings with Romney, according to spokesperson Michael DiResto, but is "very interested" in Thompson's possible candidacy and has a face-to-face meeting scheduled. Baker largely has reserved judgment because none of the candidates has detailed agendas.

"He feels good that he hasn't jumped out there at a time when you could see the emergence of a candidate like Fred Thompson," DiResto says.

That polls are already lining up one year from Louisiana's primary and 19 months from the election isn't unusual, given the political climate. There's a potential windfall from jumping in early and securing a spot at the table during policy development.

This is an interesting analysis of the state of politics in Louisiana.

Fred Thompson's Secret Weapon

This article David Brody of CBN is interesting.

If Fred Thompson gets into the presidential race (which pretty much everyone expects him to do), he's defintely going to be a serious player. He has a lot of advantages but one of his biggest may be his wife. From all accounts, Jeri Thompson is very smart and media savvy. She's been a media consultant and has worked in GOP circles for years. Talk about a top notch pairing! If Americans go for this, it could be two for the price of one. You get a conservative politician turned actor turned politician again...and you get a potential First Lady who could end up being one of the smartest and dynamic the country has ever seen. The Thompson's have two small children. (4 and 6 months old)

I met her Saturday night at the White House Correspondents dinner. I was struck by her presence and self assurance. She comes across as not only very nice but as a player in this 2008 presidential race. And she tells me she reads The Brody File! That confirms her intellect.

Read the full article!

Kent State Assesses Fred Thompson

The online version of the Daily Kent Stater has a fairly good opinon piece about Fred Thompson for President.

Currently, Thompson polls third in the Republican presidential field, behind former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain, but ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. That's quite a feat for someone who hasn't officially declared himself a candidate.
Thompson, who is better known for the character he played on television, served in the U.S. Senate from 1994 through 2003. While in the Senate, Thompson served as Chairman of the Senate Government Relations Committee, which he used to investigate irregularities in fundraising during the 1996 presidential election cycle.
But, instead of using his position to punish members of the opposite party, Thompson conducted a fair investigation - he was actually criticized by members of his own party for not finding more "dirt" to use against former President Clinton.

Read the full article by Matt White.

Fred Thompson to Appear at a GOP Fund Raiser in Virginia

This article appeared today in the Washington Post. Virginia is catching the Fred Thompson wave!!

Former senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, a possible presidential contender and an actor who plays a tough guy on television, will headline a major fundraiser for the Virginia Republican Party, GOP officials announced Monday.

Thompson, who many Republicans believe could be a leading contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination if he runs, will speak at a party gala June 2 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Shaun Kenney, spokesman for the Virginia Republican Party, said Thompson's visit is intended to invigorate the party faithful as they prepare for the fall election. The seats of all 140 Virginia state senators and delegates are up for election Nov. 6.

"We want to make sure we maintain our majorities and build upon them," Kenney said

Poll frenzy in California

This article appeared today in the SFGate.com. They are shocked that Fred is running strongly even before he has declared. California is catching the Fred Thompson wave!

California's Feb. 5, 2008, primary is only about nine months away, so it's time to look at some of the various polls that are bouncing around the state, worrying candidates and perplexing voters.

On the GOP side, a straw poll at last weekend's California Republican Assembly convention in Ontario showed that many of the states most conservative activists want to see former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson as the country's next president.

Thompson Listed 3rd in SC by Zogby

The new Zogby poll has Fred with 11% of the GOP support. Zogby states that McCains candidacy is in trouble in SC.

Fred Thompson has edged Mitt Romney out of the top three among South Carolinians likely to vote in the Republican primary early next year.

McCain leads among Republicans with 22% support, while Giuliani trails closely behind at 19%. And while he has not declared his candidacy, actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is in third-place in the first Southern state to vote for President next year with 11% support, just ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who receives 10% support.

At his point in the race, this is good news for Fred Thompson. Twenty seven percent of SC like GOP voters had not made up their minds. I expect Fred Thompson to pickup a large chunk of them plus, the conservative vote is split amoung several candidates. By the time we get to the election, the race will be down to three people.