Presidential hint by actor brings echoes of Reagan

A generation after one actor-politician transformed their party's fortunes, could today's battered and demoralised Republicans look to another one to carry their banner in next year's presidential election?

A few months ago, even a few weeks ago, the question would have been fanciful. But no longer, after Fred Thompson - one time performer in The Hunt for Red October and Die Hard 2, former senator for Tennessee and now to be seen in Law and Order - let slip recently he might enter an already crowded field of White House contenders.

The buzz began last month when the 64-year-old Mr Thompson remarked during an appearance on Fox News that he was "giving some thought" to running - even though he has not even the framework of a formal organisation in place, and has done no campaigning.

But those words alone were enough to stir the Republican presidential pot. A poll of likely party voters a few days later put him in third place with 12 per cent. Another poll showed him beating Hillary Clinton, the current Democratic frontrunner, by 44-43 per cent in a general election match-up.

The result amounts to a statistical dead heat but is, nonetheless, a remarkable feat for a man long out of the political limelight.

The reason, however, is evident. Mr Thompson not only possesses that elusive political star quality. He also is tailor-made to fill the opening for a viable, high-profile standard bearer of Republican conservatives - the party's ideological driving force since that earlier actor-politician Ronald Reagan won the White House in 1980.

As yet, none of the three leading declared contenders - former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain, or Mitt Romney, businessman and former Massachusetts governor - greatly appeals to conservatives. Mr Giuliani is a social moderate, whose views are anathema to the Christian right, while Messrs Romney and McCain, who have lately shifted to more conservative positions, are suspect for that very reason.

Mr Thompson, however, has no such problems. He is a genuine Southerner, who was born in Alabama and cut his political teeth in Tennessee. During his Senate years, between 1994 and 2003, he compiled a solid conservative voting record.

Best of all, perhaps, he is the closest available approximation to Mr Reagan, the greatest modern hero of the Republican party faithful; one of the several unofficial websites promoting a Thompson candidacy is even called "anotherronaldreagan.com," and lauds the former senator as "a real conservative".

The similarities even extend to a certain indolence. If there is a complaint against Mr Thompson, it is the one that used to be aimed at President Reagan, that he is lazy and unwilling to put in the long hours required of a candidate in an era of 24/7 campaigning.

On the other hand, if the former senator falls short in the department of hard toil, he makes up for it in terms of image. His screen portrayals of military commanders, top government officials and gruff lawyers, combined with a folksy Southern style, have blended life and art into a familiar and distinctive political persona.

Mr Thompson started out as a lawyer and prosecutor before moving to Washington where he served as a Republican counsel during the Watergate hearings. He achieved immortality as the man who asked White House aide Alexander Butterfield the key question about the secret Oval Office taping system, whose existence led to President Nixon's downfall.

Even after leaving elective politics in 2003, he remained a sought-after figure, with a prominent speaking slot at the 2004 Republican Convention, even as he was appearing on TV as the New York prosecutor Arthur Branch in Law and Order. The following year, he helped shepherd John Roberts through his Senate confirmation as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.

But will Mr Thompson now make good on the hint he dropped last month? He is said to be personally keen on a run. In a fortnight, he is due to get together with some 30 to 40 Republican congressmen. The result of that meeting will give the firmest clue yet of his intentions.

Actors who went into US politics

Ronald Reagan

From the silver screen to nine years in the White House, Ronald Reagan wowed audiences both on screen and on the world stage. With films including All American and Bedtime for Bonzo, he was nicknamed the "Great Communicator".

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Austrian actor stormed, usually with guns blazing, on to our cinema screens in the Eighties with gory action films such as Terminator and Conan the Barbarian. As Republican governor of California he declared war on carbon emissions after his election in 2003.

Clint Eastwood

America's favourite gruff cowboy, below, graced the world of politics when he became mayor of the Californian town of Carmel in 1986. He did not seek a second term and returned to Hollywood.

Shirley Temple

Better known for her childhood films than her politics, she had difficulty trying to persuade voters to take her seriously. "It doesn't help to be thought of as a six-year-old," she once said.

Ben Lewis Jones

Once Cooter Davenport, the mechanic in The Dukes of Hazzard, he went to Congress as a Democrat in 1988 and went on to call for Bill Clinton's resignation in his impeachment trial.

Sonny Landham

Currently running as the Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky, Sonny Landham acted in Predator, Lockup, and Billy Lone Star.

Jesse Ventura

Another Predator star. The wrestler-turned-politician was elected for one term as governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003 and chose not to run again. 'The Body' also played supporting roles in Demolition Man and Batman and Robin.