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the time of Gingrich may (as Ann Coulter opined at CPAC) have come and gone already. A new candidate would give the Democrats a new headache, having to work up a new opposition research file. And that's always a good thing.

When he was in the Senate, Thompson was occasionally referred to as potentially a successor to Ronald Reagan, with the same kind of charisma and the same man-of-the-people image. From his years as a highly-paid actor, he has more than enough money to pursue the presidency, but as a dirt-born Tennessean, he has plenty of credibility as an ordinary Joe.

And, while many already know him from his television persona as Arthur Branch, the tough and nearly always right District Attorney, the facts about Thompson the real person only add to his attraction as a Republican candidate.

Some things you may not know about Fred Dalton Thompson:

He was co-chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. That's his melodious voice you hear on the tapes, asking the key question of the entire investigation: "Mr. Butterfield, were you aware of the existence of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?"

In 1977, as an attorney, he exposed and brought down Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton for selling pardons. A movie, Marie, was made of the event, in which Thompson played himself.

He was elected to the Senate in Tennessee in 1994, to fill the unexpired term of Vice-President Al Gore. He received the largest amount of votes of any statewide candidate in Tennessee history at the time. Immediately thereafter, he was chosen to give the Republican response to a nationally-televised presidential speech.

He was chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee from 1997 to 2001, at which point he became the ranking member due to James Jeffords' party switch.

He helped guide now Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts through the nomination process.

He is a member of the Advisory Board for Scooter Libby's defense fund.

He is a Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, working on matters of national security and intelligence.

In short, he's got all the right positions, great experience, name recognition, charisma and outstanding speaking skills. What's not to like?

Learn more about this author, Kerry Jacoby.
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