Posted on 06/10/2007 8:14:04 AM PDT by Politicalmom
WASHINGTON - Chip Saltsman's good wishes for his friend Fred Thompson end at the White House door.
Saltsman, campaign manager to Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, said he won't bolt the former Arkansas governor's staff to join Thompson, a friend and fellow Tennessean.
Instead, Saltsman said Thompson, an actor and former Tennessee senator, would make a good running mate for Huckabee.
"Fred's a friend, from the same hometown of my mom's side of the family, and I've known him a long time," Saltsman said last week while accompanying Huckabee on a New Hampshire campaign swing. "I think he's a great guy and I welcome him to the race."
Saltsman served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party and was a senior adviser to Thompson's Senate colleague, former Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
While his Volunteer State ties are strong, Saltsman said he would not consider an invitation to work for Thompson.
"What I will consider is I think there is a pretty good history of an Arkansas governor and Tennessee senator hooking up for a ticket, so once we're the nominee, we'll talk about Fred Thompson," Saltsman said.
Saltsman was referring to former President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, a Tennessee senator for eight years.
Thompson, who plays a district attorney in the popular television show "Law and Order," said he is considering entry into the 10-man race for the 2008 presidential nomination.
Already he leads Huckabee in the polls and is considered as a top-tier contender along with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Huckabee last week compared Thompson's entry to "Mighty Mouse."
"I think that there's somewhat of this created sense of what we might call the Mighty Mouse candidacy, 'Here I come to save the day,'" he said. "In the end, voters are not necessarily looking for Mighty Mouse to fly in."
Huckabee quit God’s ministry because he thought he could change more lives in Politics. (BARF!)
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