Newsweek: Fred Thompson , "Law & Order" Candidate

Looks like the mainstream media is catching on. Now just waiting for them to start the typical anti-conservative slanted reporting and hatched jobs, then we will know they are taking him seriously

April 9, 2007 issue - It looks as if Fred Thompson is getting ready to run for president. Friends of the former Tennessee senator turned actor (anonymous to protect their relationship) say he's increasingly tempted to enter the 2008 Republican primaries, fueled in part by new polls that show he's got a serious shot at the White House. A Gallup poll released last week found Thompson ranked No. 3 behind front runners Rudy Giuliani and John McCain with 12 percent support among Republicans—all before he's even formally launched a campaign.

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One longtime Thompson friend, who declined to be named while discussing the former senator's personal life, tells NEWSWEEK that Thompson is looking into his contract obligations to "Law & Order" and talking with producers about how his run could affect the franchise. Election law requires equal air time for candidates. If enforced, the law could mean that more than 100 episodes over the past five seasons of "Law & Order" and its various spinoffs might have to be removed from the airwaves during Thompson's run—or other candidates could demand equal air time.

Another issue: his address. Thompson and his wife, Jeri, sold their Tennessee home last year and moved to the D.C. suburbs, a closer commute to New York, where "Law & Order" is filmed. A spokesman for the Tennessee Division of Elections tells NEWSWEEK that Thompson was purged from the state's voter rolls last November. Thompson's son Fred Jr. told reporters his dad is currently "looking to buy a place" in his home state.

Courtesy of Newsweek by way of MSNBC

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