Wash Post: Thompson staff forming up

Some insider politics info from the Washington Post. Looks like the campaign team is shaping up. He also alludes to a June startup.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) is growing more and more serious about a run for president, installing a former aide to President George H.W. Bush as his "campaign manager in waiting."

Tom Collamore, a former vice president of public affairs at Altria, has been leading the behind-the scenes organization efforts for a Thompson presidential candidacy and will be intimately involved when (not if) the former senator decides to announce a bid.

[The Rest of the Story]

The decision to put Collamore atop the Thompson campaign reflects a desire to have a learned Washington hand at the tiller -- even as Thompson is positioning himself as a conservative outsider in this contest. It also shows that Thompson will not seek simply to replicate the political network of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). While Frist is an informal adviser to Thompson, his campaign people have largely been kept out of the loop as Thompson prepares to make a run.

Courtesy of Chris Cillizza a t the Washington Post

Important step.