WASHINGTON — Conservatives often ridicule Democrats for espousing the "culture of Hollywood." But in the latest sign of Republican discontent with the field of 2008 presidential hopefuls -- and in a familiar plot twist -- some of those same activists are eyeing an actor as the party's potential savior.
Fred Thompson, the former GOP senator from Tennessee who once played a White House chief of staff on the big screen and who appears now as a politically savvy prosecutor on TV's "Law & Order," is positioning himself to answer the call and, perhaps, follow the script that saw Ronald Reagan jump from Hollywood to the White House.
Thompson is scheduled to visit Capitol Hill in a few weeks, a trip designed to dovetail with efforts by three well-connected Tennessee friends to line up support for drafting him into a GOP campaign that so far has left many core Republican leaders discouraged.
One of those friends, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, has called for a Thompson candidacy in postings on his political action committee's blog. Meanwhile, Howard Baker, another former Senate majority leader who also served as a White House chief of staff under President Reagan, and Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) have been recruiting congressional endorsements.
Thompson "is in the process of getting his personal affairs in order so this has a chance of happening," said Wamp, who spoke at length this week with Thompson.
Wamp said that about 40 House members were interested in meeting with Thompson. Frist told supporters Friday that Thompson was interested in hearing their reactions.
"Now is the time for big ideas ... big, true conservative ideas that rise above the fray," Frist wrote on his website.
Noting that he spoke with Thompson on Thursday night, Frist said, "Fred is listening. He will carefully consider running over the next several weeks."
Plenty of obstacles remain for Thompson -- or any would-be candidate -- given that other presidential aspirants already have secured major endorsements and hired strategists, while investing millions of dollars to build networks in the early-voting primary states.
But the effort coalescing behind Thompson underscores the extent to which leading conservatives are dissatisfied with a GOP race in which former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a moderate on abortion and gay rights, has become the front-runner in polls.
