And here's a clip of Fred Thompson's announcement on the Tonight Show, tonight, that he's running for President. With a little Jay Leno humor thrown in, too...
Makes sense, given Thompson's creds as an entertainer as well as a politician.
As I indicated in my Fred Thompson and the Fame Game piece here in June, Thompson's recognizability and public clout as an actor will make him hard but by no means impossible to beat. On the one hand, Thompson has a lot of what Reagan and Arnold had and have going for them. On the other hand, because of the Internet, I don't think network television is quite as important now as it was for Reagan (along with movies) or movies for Schwarzenegger.
I think Thompson's candidacy will most hurt Giuliani, Romney, and McCain - with little effect on Ron Paul, who has such a different wellspring of support.
I find it disturbing that he was an actor. I know Reagan was but I was kid when he was president. I just think how will anyone know when he's acting or telling the truth.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Dawn!
ReplyDeleteOf course, you could say that about any politician - but a politician/actor is just that much worse...