Will the REAL Fred Thompson Step Forward?

Who is the real Fred Thompson? Is he the man who spoke in California last night? Is he the man portrayed in this 1996 portrait?

I'm not sure.

I do agree with John at Powerline, however. I'm not happy with Thompson's performance right now. Either he is jerking us around, letting others do his ground-work (he's never been referred to as industrious) before jumping into the mix or he's just a mythical figure created by conservative idealists in their quest for another Ronald Reagan.

I agree with Gull and others. We don't need another 80's Ronald Reagan-type to restore 2008 American credibility on the global or home fronts. We don't need a flashback to the Clinton Era, either.

We need a new direction, a new approach to solving the issues that confront America. My support remains for Mitt Romney. As another blogger suggested, Thompson has the "sound" of Mitt, but without the bite.

Example:

In his speech last night, Thompson spoke of bipartisanship, particularly in resolving problems such as the fate of Social Security. His audience was notably quiet; even Thompson had failed to inspire bipartisanship when he was prosecuting Bill and Hillary Clinton's finance scandals during his term in the Senate.

For the past few years, he's been involved in the background -- garnering support for either Scooter Libby or conservative SCOTUS appointments. Good enough. But is that (lobbying) his best political attribute?

It remains to be seen.

First, he's got to make the decision to run.

Then he's got to belly up to the fire and prove that he's actually the leader -- not just the mythical image -- that America needs.