HERE & THERE COLUMN 7-3-07

Coffee Klatsch Discusses Fred Thompson

He isn't even a declared candidate for the Presidency of the United States, but, because the polls have him leading in South Carolina, our Sullivan County coffee klatsch the other day took on a lot of discussion about Frederick Dalton Thompson, former United States Senator from Tennessee.
We did note that on June 1, 2007, Thompson formed a "testing the waters" committee regarding his possible 2008 campaign for President.
Several in our coffee klatsch enjoy debate about the possible many so-called presidential candidates and we all keep saying.......who will be the real candidates in November of 2008.
As the first cup of fresh brew was poured and those delicious home made donuts made their appearance one of our members made note that former New York State Senator Alfonse D'Amato announced his endorsement of his fellow former senator, Fred Thompson.
Some are saying that America deserve a leader who has the courage to lead this country through challenging times and that Thompson meets these requirements.
Another in our coffee klatsch said that undisputed figures show Thompson surging nationally in the race for the presidential nomination even though he has yet to formally enter the race. Rumors are also circulating that former Governor George Pataki could also come out and endorse Thompson.
We all agreed that the backers of Thompson see him as a 21st century Ronald Reagon.
Media research by several coffee klatch members says that many conservative Republicans and Democrats are more then willing to give Thompson this audition.
Thompson is a former U.S. Attorney, a Watergate Prosecutor turned actor, turned U.S. senator. He served eight years in Washington before returning to a Hollywood career.
It's interesting, as we all poured our second cup of coffee, that as an actor, Thompson has performed in film and on Television and as an actor he frequently portrayed governmental figures. One of our members remembers well the 1993 film adaptation of "Born Yesterday," in which Thompson played the character of a United States senator prior to his election to the Senate in real-life.
We all commented on how most everyone enjoyed Thompson in the cast of the long-running NBC television series of "Law & Order."
Our coffee klatsch is made up of three Democrats, three Republicans and one Independent and it was agreed that we all consider Fred Thompson to be a serious Presidential candidate....that does not mean we feel he can win the Republican nomination.
Pass the coffee and donuts....it's going to be an interesting summer and race for both the Republican and Democrat presidential nominations.