He’s not the Second Coming of Ronald Reagan, either.
He’s just a guy — a lobbyist-turned-Senator-turned-actor. That’s it.
Yesterday, I left a comment on this very subject on Peach Pundit, but in light of today’s news, it bears repeating.
Thompson’s going to run. Of course, he is.
For a short while, I thought that he was just enjoying the attention and soaking up all that sweet, sweet political infatuation. But with each passing day, I’m convinced by his actions — the odd rebuttal to Michael Moore, his Memorial Day op-ed, his rather public comments about immigration — that his hat is about to sail into the ring.
But I’ve got to wonder just what people are seeing in him. He’s Fred Thompson, not District Attorney Arthur Branch. And as tough and no nonsense as his Law & Order persona is, he’s still only an actor at the end of the day. He served Tennessee in the U.S. Senate from 1994 to 2002. Before that, from 1975 to 1992, he was a lobbyist for Westinghouse, General Electric and other corporations. Since the mid-80s,he’s been answering Hollywood’s call for gruff and dour authority figures. In other words, Thompson has been an actor or a lobbyist for longer than he’s served in any elected office.
And the Reagan-was-an-actor argument falls very flat here, as Reagan had always been more of a politician than an actor. Even before his two-terms of California governorship started in 1966, he’d held the office of Screen Actor’s Guild president for two non-consecutive terms. For good or ill, Reagan heard the call to attain authority throughout his life.
So, yeah … Thompson will run. And people will cheer. But I don’t think they’ll be getting the Messiah they expect.
And just in case anyone was wondering just what kind of Senatorial magic Thompson performed on behalf of the great state of Tennessee, wonder no more. During his stint, Senator Thompson passed five bills of debatable importance:
- Established a Post Office in Cookville.
- Transferred responsibility for the quarterly financial report from the Federal Trade Commission to the Secretary of Commerce.
- Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 – To authorize the consolidation of certain financial and performance management reports required of Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
- Realigned Inspector General authority as it relates to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- And finally, a bill extending immigrant visa availability to Jacqueline Salinas and her family.
Does a Senator have to produce bills in his or her own name to be viable and contributory? Not necessarily. But one shouldn’t mistake these five bills as the work of some kind of Senatorial lightning rod. Rather, it looks like Thompson showed up, introduced occasionally, voted when called upon (and present) and behaved much like any other Senator.
Not the Messiah.
(And neither is Newt, so don’t even start.)
[tags]Fred Thompson, 2008, Ronald Reagan[/tags]
