Fred Thompson - a "Southern-fried Reagan"?

Looks like the Evangelicals aren't a monolithic bloc anymore.

The top rung of Republican presidential candidates has too many flaws for social conservatives to offer any candidate their full support, but former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) could be just the man to fill that hole, according to evangelical leader Richard Land. The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Religious and Ethics Liberty Commission, Land said Thompson would be a formidable candidate and more likely to shake up the top tier than an entry by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

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Thompson, the former senator and television star who is considering a bid, is "a masterful retail politician" who could appeal to a wide swath of voters, including a currently dissatisfied group of social conservatives, Land said. "Fred Thompson reminds me of a Southern-fried Reagan," Land said. "To see Fred work a crowd must be what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint."

“My ethics are not flexible enough to make character a central issue with Bill Clinton, and then turn around and not have it be a central issue with Rudy Giuliani,” Land said.

Bob Davis, chairman of the Tennessee GOP and a longtime aide and friend of Thompson’s, said support for a Thompson run should not necessarily be viewed as dissatisfaction with the current field. But Davis added, "Certainly, conservatives would see a home in Fred Thompson if they would just check his voting record."

And despite the eye-popping amounts of money that candidates have been reporting this week, Davis said, Thompson does not have to worry about getting in late. His high profile as a politician and an actor gives him instant recognition. "Just this last week, he talked to 6 million people every day on [the ABC radio show hosted by] Paul Harvey," Davis said. "I don’t think any of the other candidates can say that."

Courtesy of Sam Youngman writing in The Hill

With Newt Gingrich committing political suicide by filing an Amicus brief supporting/defending the Democrat crook "$90 grand in the Freezer" Jefferson, Fred Thompson is basically their only choice.(what the hell was Newt thinking? Crap like that cost the republicans the Congress in 06)