Video of Fred Thompson discussing the Republican debate

Here's a video of Thompson talking about the Republican debate He's relaxed, he has great responses:

"I'm not going to argue the extent or location of the fire in my belly."

"I've never casually run for anything"

"Ten people and Chris Matthews, that's a challenge for anybody to watch."

"I'm not interested in being the tallest midget in the room." (Answering the question of whether he thinks he can win the general election)

Roger L. Simon thought that Fred Thompson won the debate:

Much as I admire Giuliani and agree with most of his policies, this whole debate was dull dull dull. The wise man stayed out.

One other observation: Ron Paul looks like an extra in a 1940s movie.

That's what I thought as well, that it was a good thing for him to stay out until others in the field dropped out and then he wouldn't be one of many. It's not very presidential.

Here are some quotes from his speech at the annual Lincoln Club of Orange County dinner:

Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson — whose potential candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination has drawn more attention than some of the declared candidates — Friday urged a continued military presence in Iraq as a barrier to even further destabilization in the Middle East.

"I don't think it's any question that if we leave Iraq before there is some semblance of stability brought about in that nation … that the world is going to be a more dangerous place," Thompson said, adding that "as long as those brave people on the front lines who are making our sacrifices for us … say that they have a chance, we need to give them that opportunity to make that work there."

Thompson, speaking before about 450 people at the annual Lincoln Club of Orange County dinner, warned that failure to stabilize Iraq would lead to more troubles in the future.

"Under the worst set of circumstance there, we're going to leave a new haven for terrorism; we're going to leave an area of the world that becomes more and more nuclear," he said. "Those Sunni nations surrounding Iraq will respond to what Iran is doing … and the whole place will be nuclearized, and that will be bad for us."

[...]

"I think if a credible case is made to the American people, that Mom and Dad and Grandmom and Granddad will be more than happy to make the adjustment necessary to protect their kids and their grandkids," Thompson said.

I agree, if the American people really understood the stakes of this war, they would be more supportive The American people don't want to lose the war. Where's the poll that asks: "Do you want us to lose this war?" We haven't seen one of those yet, have we? I think that Thompson can make a good case for why the war is necessary, we need a strong advocate for the war as the candidate for our party.

Here's a reaction to the speech:

I thought the speech was a mixed bag. It was folksy and funny at times, yet it also felt a little dull and rambling. But that's the style part. In terms of the more important substance, he seemed to hit all the main conservative red meat themes. What stood out to me was his continued emphasis during the speech about bi-partisanship cooperation. He clearly is positioning himself to be the President who will bring America together through tough times."

The speech sounded very much like a stump speech. It started off with jokes and mood seting and then moved into familiar core Republican principles like lower taxes, free trade, federalism, limited government, reforming social security, etc. Thompson stayed vague on all of these topics. I think he did that on purpose. No need to commit to anything right now. Keep them wanting more.

I have to say though that during parts of the speech, he seemed to lose focus a little by going off on rabbit trails He talked about how he was approached by a youngster about why he wanted to get into politics. Then Thompson said it required a short answer. Yet Thompson went into a long, rambling answer. That's OK. It's a long campaign. He'll tweak it. (memo to FDT groupies: Don't send me angry emails)

And finally, it looks like Thompson didn't have too much trouble pulling together a campaign committee. I guess not all of the political operatives were busy. And it looks like he'll be announcing in June:

Two Republicans close to Thompson said that June, rather than July, is the target date for a campaign launch. They expect Thompson to take his family on vacation and make a formal decision shortly thereafter.

Filming of Thompson’s television show, Law and Order, has wrapped for the season. Republicans said that Thompson is toying with the idea of writing a short book. And if he runs, Thompson has told one Republican that he does not believe he needs to raise more than $30M to compete in the primaries and caucuses and will use the advantage of his celebrity -- combined with technology -- to connect with voters.

He'll need to hurry: a June entrance leaves him less than three months to organize for the Ames straw poll, a major test of strength for Republicans. As it is, Thompson will miss the first three Republican debates. And if he waits too long, he risks the possibility that Republican voters will come to respect the strength of their field as is.

Surprisingly, I kind of agree with that last comment because I was impressed with Romney's response to the abortion question. I'm liking him as a candidate a little more. I wouldn't be unhappy if he one. But I'm still waiting for Thompson to run.