The View From Here . . .
By Bob Morgan, Jr.

This week will come the long-awaited announcement by Fred Thompson, lawyer, former senator from Tennessee and well-known actor, that he will seek the presidency. But will he change the shape of the race?

First, a disclaimer. I am a member of a number of political organizations.

Anything I say in my column is solely my personal opinion and does not necessarily represent the views of any group with which I am affiliated.

Right now, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination appears to be former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. In a fairly representative survey, the latest Rasmussen tracking poll of likely Republican primary voters has Mr. Giuliani at 25%, Mr. Thompson at 20%, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney at 13% and Arizona senator John McCain at 11%.

Still, it is obvious that Mr. Giuliani will not have a cakewalk to the nomination. His views on gun control, immigration and particularly abortion have certainly roiled party members. Indeed, if nominated, Mr. Giuliani would be the first avowedly prochoice Republican candidate since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. This is a profoundly serious moral issue to many members of the Republican base. In addition, not a few eyebrows have been raised concerning Mr. Giuliani's personal life.

On the other hand, most Republicans admire Mr. Giuliani's strength and leadership and many regard him as easily the most electable Republican alternative to Hillary Clinton, still the likely Democratic nominee. Some support for this proposition comes from the latest Rasmussen polling, which has Mr. Giuliani three points ahead of Ms. Clinton, with other possible GOP candidates trailing the former first lady.

But what about Mr. Thompson? He is generally regarded as smart, very articulate in a low-key, somewhat Reaganesque manner. His voting record would please almost any conservative voter, and his face, at least, is well known to television viewers from his portrayal on Law and Order district attorney Arthur Branch.

It may be that Mr. Thompson may emerge as a viable Republican alternative to the socially liberal Mr. Giuliani and to Mr. Romney, a late convert to conservative social views, who is sometimes regarded as too slick. But I believe that he will have a number of obstacles to overcome.

First, there is the question of experience. While Mr. Thompson does have a number of significant governmental credentials, including serving as serving as United States senator for eight years, attorney for the Senate Watergate committee as well as a local prosecutor, he has no next to no executive experience. Running a senate staff or acting as counsel is not comparable to the experience, for example, of Mr. Giuliani in running the New York City government or of Mr. Romney of heading the Massachusetts government.

The second concern is the slowness of Mr. Thompson to declare his candidacy. He has put out strong indications of interest in running since at least May but has not moved forward with an announcement until now. The public may be wary of such an extensive period of testing the waters and think it indicates indecision or lack of commitment to the presidency. Moreover, Mr. Thompson's decision to pass the New Hampshire Republican debate this week in favor of a relatively "safe" appearance on Jay Leno may reinforce the image of an aspirant unwilling to fight for his candidacy.

Certainly, Fred Thompson will be a major force and he could end up being nominated in Minneapolis. But, at least as much as any of the other principal GOP candidates, he must address successfully a number of key concerns.