Fred Thompson Needs Law And Order In His Campaign

The word is out: former Senator and “Law and Order” character actor Fred Thompson is almost certainly going to go for it. Various news reports say he’s planning to make the leap in September and announce that he’s running for President.

And the word is also out: he needs some law and order in his campaign — which has already been hit with some turmoil, even though he hasn’t officially announced yet. Which raise the question: his imagery is masterful but is he truly ready for Prime Time National American Politics? The New York Times:

Former Senator Fred D. Thompson has yet to make a formal declaration that he is running for president, but already his noncampaign campaign has gone through its first shake-up.

A week of personnel turnover that extended from his campaign-manager-in-waiting down to volunteers raised questions about whether the Thompson camp is prepared to jump fully into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a race in which his rivals have had months to establish their campaign organizations, raise money and hone strategy.

It also ignited speculation in Republican circles about who is really in charge, and in particular about the extent of the role being played by Mr. Thompson’s wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson, a former political operative.

WARNING TO THOMPSON: Can’t you just SEE Jay Leno’s, David Letterman’s and Jon Stewart’s writers just working overtime to get ready for a host of jokes about your campaign? MORE:

On Tuesday, Tom Collamore, a top adviser to Mr. Thompson, stepped aside. At the same time, Mr. Thompson’s political operation announced that it was bringing in Randy Enwright, a veteran Republican strategist with ties to the Bush family, and former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, to take over the prospective campaign. The next day, the organization’s research director quit, and other staff members walked out.

Mr. Thompson, an actor and former senator from Tennessee, has been publicly considering a run for the presidency since March.

From all accounts, it’s all but certain. If Thompson doesn’t enter now, it would be a political shock and reshape the race as being largely between front runners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Count McCain out unofficially now and officially within a few months.

And then there is the wild card in the primaries: Rep. Ron Paul, who has an extremely loyal, dedicated and enthusiastic following (which seems to be growing). Every primary season there is a surprise that leaves some of the all-knowing pundits (and that includes US on weblogs) looking dumb when the votes are counted. Will there be one this year? Will Paul be an also-ran OR will some of the media types dismissing him outright be surprised that he garners more votes than they expected?

But, barring a big fat surprise, Thompson, by all accounts, is running. But so far not so good:

“They [the Thompson camp] are dancing on the edge, and it’s a pretty sharp edge,” said Robert Haus, a Republican political consultant in Des Moines. “In all fairness, you have to assume that the Thompson campaign is trying to quickly put bricks and mortar under some very high expectations.”

Steve Gill, a Nashville-based conservative talk radio host who has written a biography of Mr. Thompson, said: “This is a challenging time for the nascent campaign. They’re not where they need to be in terms of staff and because of his seeming front-runner status.”

Mr. Gill continued: “Thompson has to recognize that these are dangerous times. It’s good news, bad news. The good news is you’re a front runner. The bad news is the transition into a campaign is more dangerous.”

WORSE NEWS for Thompson. Once he announces and all the journalistic pieces come out about his surfacing in the campaign as a “none of the above” candidate who reportedly is strongly supported by many Bush supporters, he will then might as well walk around with a target on his back. Because the other GOP candidates, the press and the Democrats will comb through every statement he ever made, challenge him on everything he says, and go through every aspect of his personal history.

A candidate who has an agile and skilled organization — and a fire in his belly — can handle it.

Can Fred?

MORE STORIES OF INTEREST:
Pure Horserace: Thompson’s Troubles
A Mixed Week for Fred Thompson
Baker launched Thompson’s political rise
Matalin Sticking With Fred Thompson