Posted on 05/02/2007 12:52:51 AM PDT by Doofer
Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson said Tuesday that his potential Republican opponents are trying to dig up dirt on him while he considers running for the White House.
Thompson said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes" that he was surprised to hear opposition researchers were combing through public records in Tennessee.
"I thought it would have maybe been a little early," Thompson said. "I thought it might have come from the Democrats instead of Republicans, but that's the way it is nowadays."
Thompson said his wife had also heard from a man falsely claiming to be an old boyfriend with damaging information on her from when she was 16. "Of course, it wasn't any old boyfriend," he said.
Thompson said he won't let that affect his decision whether to run for the GOP nomination.
"It's kind of like gnats swarming around a war horse," he said. "You know, they aggravate you sometimes, but in the end _ not that important."
Asked how he knew Republicans were responsible, Thompson acknowledged that he couldn't be certain.
"Well, I could be wrong," he said. "I don't flatter myself enough to think that the Democrats right now are focusing in on me."
Thompson's spokesman did notimmediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking more details.
Perhaps best known for playing District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's drama "Law & Order," Thompson has said he hasn't set a deadline to make a decision and that he could wait until summer.
"Certain doors have opened to me from time to time in my life," Thompson said. "I have not beaten down any of them, but oftentimes I walk through, and they've always work out well."
Thompson has a contract for another year on "Law & Order," if both he and the producers choose to exercise it. He also has had supporting roles on the big screen, including in the films "The Hunt forRed October" and "In the Line of Fire."
Thompson took a swipe at congressional Democrats in his Fox interview, especially on calls to withdraw from Iraq.
"They're as near to investing in defeat of their own country than anything I've ever seen, and I don't think the American people will forgive them for that," he said.
"Let's just let them go, let's just give them a little rope and see what they do," he said. "Our name-calling and harping on them right now is kind of wasted effort as far as I'm concerned."
Thompson declined to specifically criticize any of the Republicans or Democrats who have already declared their candidacies.
"I really want to take the luxury of not getting into that right now," he said.
Fred Thompson On Illegal Immigration
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BQLFfTd2l44&mode=related&search=
He sounds like Ronald Reagan meets Teddy Roosevelt meets John Wayne with a little Jed Clampett and Alvin York thrown in for seasoning. If we can’t win in 2008 with this man, we don’t deserve to win.
I make no mistake about it. Fred Thompson is running for president. His comment about the open doors convinced me.
The doors are open.
He sounds like Ronald Reagan meets Teddy Roosevelt meets John Wayne with a little Jed Clampett and Alvin York thrown in for seasoning. If we can’t win in 2008 with this man, we don’t deserve to win
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Just as long as he don’t have any Dean RudY Hillary edwards or OWL GORE in him!
In before the FredHead ping! :-)
Go, Fred, Go!! :-)
Thanks for the vids.
And with the way it is going, the GOP will not win with this man. Though he is an acceptable conservative and that comment about the Demonrats is good to play he can be tough and try and compare with Duncan Hunter in some way-the fact is he was the same old, same old type of Republican while in the Senate who is ineffective against Demonrat smear and politics. Fred’s not going to be known to most the public and I seriously doubt when it is pointed out he is an actor that will win him over votes. I will repeat that the GOP candidate is going to have to convince the public on Iraq and it would win more votes if they had personal stake in it and had served in the military. Fred is clearly open to chickenhawk statements. And he is not the best candidate.
Duncan Hunter is my first choice...
Fred Thompson is my second.
Tom Tancredo is my third.
Romney (gulp) is my fourth.
The rest can go to hell.
He has as much chance as Mike Gravel or Dennis Kucinich do at the Demo nomination.
If Fred gets in the race there are four people who could realistically win the nomination, and they are John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson.
That’s just the way the world works, it might not be fair and you might not like, but its the truth.
Hunter is a great guy and a great conservative who has long been a voice of reason in the House, but he is just not going to be POTUS, let alone our nominee.
And for some reason I don’t think Obama, Hillary, or Edwards would gain much traction in calling any potential GOP nominee a “chickenhawk”...
I’d love to have Duncan Hunter as President. He is 99% what I would prefer. Fred Thompson, is only about 85%.
But as much as I like Hunter, Fred is far more electible. Check the polls that include him... And that is before Fred! has even officially announced.
Only about 5% of the electorate has ever even heard of Duncan Hunter. It would take at least a half a billion dollars for him to get the name recognition necessary. I love the guy, but he is not electable in 2008 barring a miracle that I do not expect.
Fred could handle a campaign, I think.
Thompson would win a general election and I could support him.
Julie-Annie is a flaming socialist. McCain is just plain nuts. And Romney just isn't mean enough...
Duncan Hunter is my first choice out of fraternal loyalty. If the RNC shuts him out of the debates, I won't vote for the Republicans.
Tom Tancredo needs to also be in the debates. The RNC had better get a clue.
You're suspicion is one I'd bet the bank on.
Fred is a step in the right direction.
I will point out that polling show that Thompson has consistently higher appeal than Hunter.
Yet it's still early. We'll see who "makes it" in a few months. Either way they are both at the top of my list.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.