Right said Fred

Campaign work ethic in questions
What will be interesting to watch in the next few weeks is what negative info about Thompson begins to circulate. The worst negative we've heard has to do with his campaign work ethic. Simply put: he has a reputation for being a little lazy when it comes to playing the political game. He's not alone; Quite a few presidential wannabes never succeed because they just don't want to have to make those 100/day fundraising calls or sneak in that extra campaign stop at the end of the day.

Thompson's political career has come fairly easy for him. His initial Senate race against Democrat Jim Cooper was supposed to be competitive but wound up not. His subsequent re-elections were cakewalks.

His personal life issues (money and family in particular) were reasons why he decided to give up life as a senator.  However, there’s not an ambitious politician in American history that would say no to a nomination that they believed could be handed to them. And Thompson is clearly getting the kind of advice right now that tells him he might have an easier time getting this nomination by swooping in late and essentially become coronated.

Of course, Thompson could simply be trying to raise his profile a bit so that he can become the next Paul Harvey. But something tells me Thompson is not the type of guy to play games like this. By acknowledging his interest, it tells me he’s truly exploring the idea. Unlike a Chuck Hagel, Thompson isn’t someone who has a history that will get him confused with Hamlet. 

Thompson's helping hand
As for the rest of the Republican field, the candidate who might be most helped by Thompson’s interest is, believe it or not, John McCain.  Giuliani and Romney have only been getting their early traction thanks to the contrasts they’ve been drawing to McCain. If those contrasts haven’t been enough to quell talk of a new candidate in the race, then isn’t McCain the biggest beneficiary in the short term?. And if Thompson’s decision process lingers through the summer and ends up being a no-go, then that may help McCain even more. Thompson endorsed McCain in ’00 and there isn’t much out there indicating that the two still aren’t friends.  So simply for slowing down the momentum that Giuliani -- and Romney, to a lesser extent -- were getting of late, McCain’s folks are probably the most pleased by this Thompson distraction.

For as much as McCain is helped right now by Thompson, the interest Republicans are showing for the former Tennessee senator isn’t helpful to the Republican Party as a whole, particularly if Thompson decides not to run. And that’s the danger with a trial balloon this late. It’s what happened in the fall of ’95, when Republicans were desperate to find an alternative to Bob Dole and were trying to coax Colin Powell into the race.  Powell got close to running but decided against it, leaving the perception that the Republican field in place was weak. And that became a self-fulfilling prophecy for the Republicans in the ’96 presidential. The best thing to happen for the GOP this cycle is for Thompson to run because win or lose, his entry into the race would strengthen the field as a whole and reassure voters that the field is strong. If he passes up the race, the perception of a weak field will remain and that will only serve to demoralize Republicans going into ’08.

Picking the president — the candidates Click a name below to visit that candidate’s MSNBC page • Joe Biden                 • Sam Brownback     • Hillary Clinton          • Chris Dodd • John Edwards         • Rudy Giuliani           • Mike Gravel              • Duncan Hunter • Mike Huckabee        • Dennis Kucinich     • John McCain           • Barack Obama • Ron Paul                    • Bill Richardson      • Mitt Romney            • Tom Tancredo • Fred Thompson To subscribe to a candidate page RSS feed, click here.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Divided Senate opens health care debate Poll: GOP voters both united, divided   Party crashers e-mailed Pentagon official Reid: Senate to work weekends on health care   Obama to reveal Afghanistan war plan Senate set for health care debate The Grio: Rep. Rangel faces challenge from former staffer Levin: Afghan forces key to success NYT: White House intruders want to sell tale Newsweek: Why Cheney should run in 2012 Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: