The Australians discover Fred Thompson

They sound like they like him. Nice catch by a reporter in "Ozz" as they call it. Particularity important are the interviews with FDT's children, and some background on his daughter's overdose death (addicted to prescription pain killers) and how that impacted them all.

"For me, the George Washington example of serving eight years and riding out of town on a horse and never returning has great appeal." He vowed to keep his hand in politics, teach a bit, write his memoirs and carry on with his part-time acting career.

It dawned on him this year that he could ride back into town as president only when, one by one, the conservative choices for the 2008 Republican ticket revealed their flaws. They seemed out of sync with the party or the country or both. Thompson's name began to be aired by old friends and party powerbrokers and, suddenly, the idea of Fred Thompson for president caught fire.

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Thompson, a good ol' Southern boy with bags of charm to match those under his eyes and chin, is already known to millions as a tough district attorney in the hugely popular TV series Law and Order and has appeared in films such as In the Line of Fire, with Clint Eastwood, and The Hunt for Red October with Sean Connery. A national poll last week put Thompson, 64, second behind former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and three points ahead of senator John McCain - and he hasn't even declared yet that he is running or spent a cent on campaigning. It suggests he has the potential to be the Republican frontrunner.

"I never thought about my dad running for president, but once I did it made absolute sense," said Tony Thompson, 47. "It's been quite amazing for me to watch this happen to him."

Courtesy of Sarah Baxter writingin The Australan

Read more for more from his adult son.