Fred Thompson and the "Actor Factor"

Another article on the pros and cons of FDT's acting career. The summary here is only part of the info available at the link - go check it out if this whets your appetite.

WASHINGTON — Fred Thompson's surprising third-place showing in the latest USA TODAY-Gallup Poll is certainly a reflection of rank-and-file Republicans' unease about the declared GOP candidates. But it also provides insight into the show-biz requirements of a successful modern candidate.

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Thompson, who has oscillated between the political and entertainment culture for 35 years, personifies that cross-cultural appeal more than any Republican now in the field. Simply put, Americans like a little rock star in their presidential candidates. (See Barack Obama).

Thompson, a tower of a man, has played virtually every kind of government authority figure, from FBI director on down, in more than a dozen movies. He plays law-and-order District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law and Order.

"The sucker is out there making movies and television, a constant presence who has a political background on several grounds," said Hodding Carter (who ran Jimmy Carter's successful 1976 campaign). "He has about two full generations of name recognition among people who are in the (political) business, first as Watergate minority counsel and then as Republican activist. And then as movie and television star.

"I think if there is any kind of gridlock in the sense of these earlier months (in the GOP primary), a lot of people are going to be looking for the breakout fellow.

Courtesy of Chuck Raasch in The Tennessean