In this installment in our series leading up to the Jan. 29 Florida primary, we examine the newest Republican candidate:
Is Fred Thompson a presidential candidate, or does he just play one on TV?
Given the character actor's visibility in films such as In the Line of Fire and television shows like Law & Order, it can be difficult to separate Thompson the politician from Thompson the actor. For some Thompson supporters in Tampa Bay, that's just fine.
"Fred's a great character actor, and like a Jimmy Stewart or a John Wayne, I believe he's basically playing 'himself' in the movies and TV," said David Deering of St. Petersburg in an e-mail interview. "That straight-talking, no-bull, smart, tough guy he plays [Arthur Branch on L&O, Admiral "the Russians don't take a dump without a plan, son" Painter in Hunt for Red October and CIA Director Marshall in No Way Out] — THAT is the guy I want leading this nation in very uncertain times. I guess you might say we trust him."
Deering joined untold other Thompson backers across the nation last week at house parties where they viewed their man's online affirmation that he is indeed running for the presidency. It didn't matter that the worst-kept secret in U.S. politics had been officially made public the night before on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Deering and friends gathered anyway, as his party invitation said tongue-in-cheek, to "watch Fred's live webcast announcement, have snacks and sing 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' together."
Thompson jumps late into a GOP presidential primary laden with big names who, at most other times in our history, would have been accepted by Republican voters as outstanding, electable candidates; John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney top the list. Yet a significant percentage of Republican voters have told pollsters that they aren't happy with their choices, leaving the door open for a charismatic character actor with strong social conservative chops.
No, it isn't 1979 and Morning in America redux. But in many ways, Thompson as presidential candidate is simply playing the role of Ronald Reagan to a crowd hungry for the return of The Great Communicator. Although he is far behind Giuliani and Romney in terms of having a Florida organization, Thompson has already won over some well-known names here in his bid to win the key primary state. These include both campaign staffers (Bush Bros. operatives Randy Enwright and Todd Harris hold high-ranking jobs) and politicians like Republican Congressman Adam Putnam of Bartow and former state Speaker of the House Johnnie Byrd of Plant City. Jeb Bush's son, George P. Bush, is also a Thompson supporter.
Byrd has gone so strongly for Thompson, in fact, that his family, friends and law firm have contributed more than $11,000 to Thompson's exploratory committee, making Byrd et al. the 10th biggest donor on his list, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Byrd could not be reached for comment for this article.
For real star power, Thompson has Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning on his side as well.
Thompson is appealing to some Florida conservatives who loathe Giuliani's moderate social stance and who either don't buy Romney's late-conversion to the right wing or can't abide his Mormonism (even if they don't say so publicly). That could translate to a swath of Thompson support from the Panhandle, central Florida, eastern Hillsborough and down into the red-state strongholds of Fort Myers and Naples.
His Florida backers cite his straightforward stance on federalism, Second Amendment rights and beefing up border security while cutting the size of the federal government and leaving many decisions to the states. His support base seems to center on his appeal to military strength and guns: two Tampa Bay bloggers, Educated Soldier and Tampa Pirate, are former servicemen and laud Thompson as a bold choice for commander-in-chief.
To win Florida, however, Thompson must overcome some issues. He's appeared lackadaisical at times, and some pundits and opponents are questioning his work ethic. His non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is in remission but provides reason to wonder if he will remain in good health. His campaign staff turnover has been blog-publicized and is beginning to be compared with Katherine Harris' revolving-door office roster. He's also got some work to do with female voters owing to growing coverage of his latest wife, Jeri, 24 years his junior and two years younger than one of Thompson's own daughters. Jeri's possible role in the campaign shakeups has drawn unwanted attention and earned headlines such as "Fred Thompson's 'trophy wife' runs the show" in London's The Daily Telegraph.
His record is also mixed on social conservative issues, which explains why he hasn't been overwhelmed with Christian-right love — at least yet. His voting record was a conservative-respectable, but not perfect, 78 percent during the 1999-2000 congressional session, according to the National Right to Life Committee. (Thompson's fellow Tennessee senator that year, Bill Frist, got a 100.) Thompson voted for campaign finance reform, a sore point for many conservatives. And while his record on pro-life issues might seem perfect (in pro-lifers' eyes), the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this year that Thompson's law firm in the early 1990s lobbied for a pro-choice group and that Thompson himself participated. His exploratory campaign initially denied it, but the New York Times obtained the law firm's billing records and wrote that Thompson "charged the organization, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, about $5,000 for work he did in 1991 and 1992. The records show that Mr. Thompson … spent much of that time in telephone conferences with the president of the group, and on three occasions he reported lobbying administration officials on its behalf."
Then there is the matter of history and the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. The little crime that eventually brought down Richard Nixon's presidency (as well as stuck a fatal knife in liberal Republicanism, paving the way for Reagan's election seven years later) also vaulted Thompson to fame. He served as the GOP's chief counsel during the House Watergate hearings, and it was Thompson who asked surprise witness Alexander Butterfield the key question, "Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?" Butterfield answered, "I was aware of listening devices, yes sir." An 18 1/2-minute gap later and Nixon was a goner.
(A recent story in the Boston Globe takes some shine off Thompson's Watergate heroism; reviews of White House tapes and Thompson's own memoir show that he spoke with Nixon's lawyers repeatedly — including the night before that famous confrontation, when he tipped the White House off to knowing about the tapes. The phone calls prompted one Democratic Watergate House committee investigator to label him Nixon's "mole.")
More than 30 years later, Thompson is in a very different public position when it comes to rooting out rot in the White House. He supported Lewis "Scooter" Libby after the former vice presidential chief of staff was tried for obstruction of justice and perjury in the Valerie Plame leak case, calling Libby's conviction a "shocking injustice" and urging his pardon. Thompson even served on an advisory committee for Libby's legal defense trust. His name appears on its fundraising website even today.
Disclaimer: The author worked as a political consultant for Byrd in the 1996 and 2004 elections.
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This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.