[rhombus]

Fred Thompson sounds more like someone who fits the bill -- conservative, but not an ideologue, charismatic, well-liked, consistent, honest, and a track record of winning big using unconventional methods.

There's going to be some real disappointed conservatives if Thompson doesn't run. People will I suppose turn back to Hunter as the great Conservative hope. I was worried when the stories of Thompson's cancer came out. I really don't know Thompson so much (beyond movie appearances). I hope he's articulate and I'm assuming his acting roles have made him media savvy. We've really taken a beating in that area.

[kevkrom]

I was worried when the stories of Thompson's cancer came out.

That has all the appearances of a pre-announcement disclosure -- making sure it won't cause people to turn away from him.

We've really taken a beating in that area.

That we have. From what I've seen, Thompson is very capable of articulating conservative views in plain, common, direct language. He also appears to realize that he needs to take his case directly to the public, not to try and make nice with Congress (the latter doesn't hurt, of course, but see where it's gotten Bush without the former?)