Actor's presidential ambitions are put on hold

The hitherto effortless presidential campaign of the Law and Order actor Fred Thompson has hit choppy waters, with an unexpected staff shake-up, grumbling about the influence of his glamorous and much younger wife, and disappointing fundraising returns - and all this even before he has made his bid official.

According to The New York Times yesterday, the committee set up for the former Republican senator and television and movie actor raised barely $3m (£1.5m) in June, its first month of operation, well below the $5m aides had publicly hoped for.

That news follows the defection of senior aides and the replacement of his campaign manager Tom Collamore by a new two-man team. The turbulence is also being fuelled by concern about the influence wielded by Mr Thompson's second wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson.

Ms Thompson, a former Republican lobbyist and congressional aide whose is 24 years her husband's junior. She is said to have the last word on every important issue of the nascent campaign, including the date that he formally announces his bid. It had been expected in early July, but has been put back until the first week of September.

Republican analysts fear he may have missed his moment. Party hopes soared earlier this year when he first hinted that he might enter the race, filling a gap in the field on the right. Mr Thompson was hailed as a true believer, with the Reaganesque star power to win the presidency in what is bound to be a difficult year for Republicans.

But although he comes second or third in many polls, procrastination has cost him some of his lustre. He also has a reputation for laziness, and there are claims that he does not have the energy for presidential campaign.

Over the past month he has also been dogged by questions about lobbying work in 1991 for a family-planning group. Of course, this upsets anti-abortion conservatives, but his record as a lobbyist and 30-year veteran of Washington politics also contrasts with Mr Thompson's preferred image as a folksy outsider.