September 5, 2007

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson will announce on Jay Leno’s show tonight he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for President.

I know Thompson a little and I like him. His commentaries when he sits in for Paul Harvey are excellent. But I wonder if he’s waited too long. Already he’s had several staff shakeups, which is not a good sign in a campaign. I also wonder if the initial enthusiasm for him came more from the lack of enthusiasm for the other GOP candidates or was it genuine?

Thompson has good conservative positions on a number of issues, from fighting terrorism, to closing the borders to keep out illegal aliens, to lower taxes and smaller government. But he has not yet articulated a vision, or said why he wants to be President. Both are essential. Perhaps he will in the days ahead.

Four months before the first primary sounds like a long time, but a lot of money must be raised to run for President and the question is whether Thompson can raise it quickly? We will soon know.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.