Washington Post (Novak): "Thompson Is for Real"

Robert Novak goes through the reasons Fred Thompson would run - and why he would be a powerful candidate when he chooses to do so. There is also a mention of not wanting to do "like Obama" and enter too soon which would waste momentum

In just three weeks, Fred Thompson has transformed the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. It is not merely that he has come from nowhere to double digits in polls. He is the talk of GOP political circles because he is filling the conservative void in the field.

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Thompson was surprised by the reaction to his statement that he was "giving some thought" to running. In the first Gallup Poll that listed Thompson (conducted March 23-25), he scored 12 percent -- amazing for someone out of public life for more than four years who has not campaigned. More important is his backing within the political community. Buyer's remorse is expressed by several House members who endorsed Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

The principal complaint about Thompson concerns not his ideology but his work ethic. The rap is that he does not burn the midnight oil -- the identical criticism of Reagan. That carping may betray resentment that Thompson has emerged as a full-blown contender without backbreaking campaign travel and tedious fundraising.

Courtesy of Robert Novak in the Washington Post

As usual, the entire article at the link amplifies and fills in much that is omitted here.