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Second coming of Reagan Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 By David Sanders The biggest story in the Republican presidential sweepstakes so far started Sunday with 12 words: "I'm giving some thought to it. Going to leave the door open." That is exactly what Fred Thompson said when Fox News asked the former U.S. senator from Tennessee and current star of NBC's "Law and Order" if he was considering a run for the presidency. Republicans see shades of Ronald Reagan, in more ways than one. The actor comparison is the easiest to make, even though Reagan hadn't acted in years by the time he ran for president. Like Reagan, Thompson is now considered an outsider. Reagan was free of Watergate's stain and represented a break from what was Washington's recent past. Thompson doesn't bear the current Republican burden from Iraq, corruption and scandal. Like Reagan, Thompson is plainspoken and polished, comfortable in front of the camera as well as talking policy details. He is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where his focus is on national security and intelligence issues linked to China, North Korea and Russia. In 1980 Republican voters were looking for a conservative to stand out in a crowd of more moderate candidates like George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and Howard Baker. In 2007, Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney are incompletely conservative, despite their best efforts to appear otherwise. Thompson's conservative credentials are intact. As a member of the Senate he voted to cut taxes, cut government spending, limit abortion, expand trade, defend gun rights and define marriage as a union between a man and woman. There would be few questions as to what kind of judges he would nominate. At President Bush's request in 2005, Thompson returned to Washington to help shepherd John Robert's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court through the U.S. Senate. Thompson would bring a significant body of work to the campaign. He served as a U.S. attorney in Tennessee in the late 1960s and early 70s. He went from being Baker's campaign manager and trusted aide to co-chief counsel to the Senate Committee investigating Watergate. Back in Tennessee in the late 1970s, Thompson continued to make a name for himself when his legal work on a pardon-selling scheme helped bring down Tennessee's governor, Ray Blanton. A few years later the case was made into a movie and Thompson landed the role playing himself. His Hollywood career was launched. Since 1985 he has starred in 23 movies and numerous television programs. It is true that Republicans want a candidate who can win. That is why they are willing to consider Giuliani, McCain and Romney, in spite of misgivings. Conservative hopefuls like Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Sam Brownback of Kansas have not made a dent in the front-runners' leads and do not appear to be plausible alternatives. In terms of policy - or on matters more personal - supporters of Giuliani, McCain and Romney usually find themselves saying "yes, but." "Yes, but" Romney has changed his stance on abortion and gays. "Yes, but" Giuliani wouldn't actually support public funding for abortion as president, and would bring crossover voters. "Yes, but" McCain's growing fascination with climate change means less than his electability. But supporting a candidate solely on the basis of electability is a one-legged stool. A truly winning candidate must offer more. It appears Fred Thompson might be the guy to offer all "yes" and no "but." ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
