Media Credit: Rodrigo Huerta — THE BATTALION [Click to enlarge]

Fred Thompson (R) Former Senator, Tennessee

Rick Rojas: Rudy Giuliani appeared morally bankrupt. Mitt Romney was the filthy rich Mormon from Massachusetts who's been on both sides of every social issue. John McCain was damaged from his previous clashes with the religious right and aging like a prune in the summer heat. Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee and actor, was the Republican's savior-in-waiting. He was a tall, wealthy, older white man, known for passing on sage words of advice as the Manhattan District Attorney on Law & Order. He was looking an awful lot like Ronald Reagan, hovering in the distance ready to hop in to answer the people's call.

Finally, he entered the race - and thud. Thompson appeared to be less of Reagan's second coming, and more like an oaf of a man who only wants be president, because he wants to do some things only a "president could do."

But what exactly would he do? He doesn't have much of a record. He was a senator for six years. That's it. Most of the issues important in recent history - after Sept. 11 - we have no idea how he would respond or how well he would have responded or even what his ideology would be. While most of the other candidates were leaders, he pretended to be one. If Thompson really wants to do something like a president, maybe he should just play one on TV.

David Morris: Like a messiah come to lead the Republican Party back to the glory days of the Reagan era, Fred Thompson has said all the right things to woo conservative hearts and minds. The problem, however, is the lack of a clear voting record. With only a single term in the Senate, Thompson hasn't accumulated a record to base his candidacy on - all his promises could be little more than sweet nothings whispered in the ears of a base desperate for principled, trustworthy leadership. He also seems to be leading a laissez-fare candidacy, one that could almost be called effortless. In terms of the positions he has taken, Thompson is the perfect candidate, exemplifed by the T-shirt stating, "Protect the borders. Kill the terrorists. Punch the hippies." (Unfortunately, the shirt is not actually associated with his campaign.) However, when you agree with everything a candidate has to say, you should probably prepare for disappointment.

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