Why Fred?

It’s a reasonable question. Fred Thompson has not had a particularly distinguished political career. His record of achievement as a US Senator in the 1990s was small. He wasn’t even talked about as presidential contender when the race got off to an unusually early start at the end of last year. His very public tease for the last four months about the timing of his entry into the race has raised questions both about his commitment and his judgment

Part of his appeal is, to paraphrase that famous beer commercial from the 1980s, that his campaign can reach the parts other Republican candidates haven’t reached.

The obvious and puzzling hole in the Republican field at present is that none of leading contenders – Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani, John McCain – has convinced the conservative base of the party that he is reliably one of them.

The early hopes for Fred were that he was closer to that mould – a southern conservative – who could move into the wide open space on the right of the party which is, in primary elections, a pretty profitable place to be.

But as his dance of the seven veils has progressed this summer, and we have learned more about him, it is not all that clear that he is any more conservative than the rest . His record on abortion and his views on gay marriage – litmus tests for many Republican voters - are somewhat mixed. He used to be a strong supporter of liberal immigration reforms of the kind proposed by President Bush this year that have so enraged the conservative base.

In the Senate he was allied closely with John McCain – despised by many conservatives, especially on the neuralgic issue of campaign finance reform. He even voted against convicting President Bill Clinton on some of his impeachment charges in the famous Senate trial over the Monical Lewinsky perjury eight years ago.

So why Fred?

It’s hard to resist the conclusion that a large part of his appeal is his celebrity. As Lamar Alexander, his fellow Tennessean and supporter in the Senate, told me a while back: “He just looks the part.”

That big, craggy face, the lanky six foot six frame , the deep, comforting southern drawl, like a warming draught of Tennessee bourbon by the fire on a foggy winter night, all are somehow just pleasingly presidential. We should never underestimate the power of the personality in the presidential race (who would you rather spend an evening with, Fred, or Hillary?). But it won’t be enough.

Yet, in the often clichéd analysis of Fred’s charisma, we may have missed something of real political substance. The campaign that rolled out today here in Iowa is touting the theme: Security, Unity, Prosperity. Whenever he speaks, Thompson makes much of the argument that America is a divided country with a broken political system.

As familiar as it is, it strikes me this has the potential to be a winning message. The country is really tired of the partisanship that attends everything in Washington. Americans want someone who can really bring the country together, conclude with honour the war in Iraq and actually achieve what President Bush promised eight years ago and end the endless bickering in Washington.

This is an old plea, of course, but it has more resonance now, in the age of talk radio, screaming heads on TV, and the nasty rancour that passes for debate among internet bloggers. It is why there is growing interest in a third party candidate. President Bush is unpopular ater seven years, but so too are the Democrats, after just eight months of controlling Congress. Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic candidate for president, offers voters a nightmarish continuation of the politics of the last sixteen years.

If Fred really can make a case in the next few months that his character and his values offer Americans a chance to transcend the ruinous squabbling of the recent past, he might be just the ticket.

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