EXCLUSIVE: Fred Thompson — ‘I’ve never casually run for anything’

On May 4th, 2007 Fred Thompson talked to Breitbart.tv (on the day our site launched) about the possibility that he might run for president.

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May 11, 2007 at 6:15 pm - Source: BREITBART.TV
Dateline: Newport Beach, CA
Paul Klenk   May 5th, 2007 - 3:09 pm

A single take, no cuts or editing. Amazing. Good job, Fred.

William Naegele   May 5th, 2007 - 3:13 pm

“It’s not my first rodeo”

Way too much common sense here…

REyman   May 5th, 2007 - 3:28 pm

Great job Fred! Keep this up and we’ll be right there with you.

DistantThunder   May 5th, 2007 - 3:42 pm

If he wins the Republican primary, and while running against Hillary, his cancer returns – then what? What’s our Plan B?

SlavaBogu   May 5th, 2007 - 3:53 pm

If we based the decision to take a particular action on its potential for failure – we’d never get anywhere. Plan B is we make sure Fred has an excellent running mate. That way, if he does relapse and die in office, we got it covered. The Founding Fathers already thought of this one when they wrote up that Constitution thingey.

No matter who is nominated at the GOP convention, that person could get run over by an evil SUV, asphyxiate from global warming, or be shot by a Katrina evacuee. Let’s just nominate the best guy to win the presidency. At this point, I’m thinking that guy’s name is Fred.

Ordinary Coloradan   May 5th, 2007 - 4:08 pm

Distant – what about the same thing for Giuliani?

Its irrelevant. The cancer he had is less than 1% of the lymphomas, and the typical survival rate is lo long that people tend to die form old age rather than that type of lymphoma.

As a matter of fact, if you have type II diabetes and are 5 years younger than him, he will, statistically speaking, out live you .

So give it up on trying to bring up cancer as a disqualifier. You one of those Romney paid agitators I’ve heard about?

Terri   May 5th, 2007 - 6:35 pm

“I’m not interested in being the tallest midget in the room” –

Love it. Do it your way Fred and we will be there for you.

Bill Faith   May 5th, 2007 - 7:53 pm

William N: The line, which he got correct, is “This ain’t my first rodeo.” The man ain’t after the New York Lib vote, for sure, but he’ll take everything south of the Mason-Dixon and most of the west. Now if we can just get Lieberman to cross over and run as his VP. ….

[...] See this interview at Breitbart.tv (Drudges [...]

Flavia   May 5th, 2007 - 8:07 pm

Great interview. Also, not bad when you can best 8 of the GOP candidates while not in the race.

Andrew L   May 5th, 2007 - 8:23 pm

This, not McCain, is a straight talker. A breath of fresh air that will rally Republicans and Southern Democrats…Fred is a winner.

OldCodger   May 5th, 2007 - 9:22 pm

Fred was great. Too bad the interviewer was terrible and stumbled over his thoughts while interviewing. Hope Fred enters the race, he’ll give the other GOP candidates a strong run and weed out the “never should haves!”

ArtbyRuth   May 5th, 2007 - 9:26 pm

Run Fred, run!! Great interview. I love how he takes time to answer questions HIS way.

Can’t hardly wait for him to announce.

Thanks for posting this video! Great job.

GeorgeJS   May 5th, 2007 - 10:31 pm

It’s about time a conservative Republican who looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck is truly a duck. It is refreshing Mr. Thompson acknowledges his “duckhood” and is not trying to become a peacock. I do believe however, if he really tried hard enough, he could become an American Bald Eagle. “GO FRED”

[...] interview comes from Breitbart TV. It’s Thompson’s first interview after the debate and it’s worth [...]

Erica   May 6th, 2007 - 12:18 am

Awesome interview Fred!! How refreshing it is to have someone in touch with the American people. He speaks his mind and tells ya like it is in such a way that just makes you want to follow him into anything.

As a military spouse I know that I as well as many others feel more comfortable with him leading our men and women than that of any other candidate, democrat (*shivers*) or Republican thats up there now.

Please Fred, for our wonderful country, be our next President!!

[...] This video was filmed yesterday and posted on brightbart.tv [...]

caroline   May 6th, 2007 - 1:12 am

Andrew Jackson was also from Tennessee, as I recall. And he was a straight-shooter, also. Fred’s got the same quiet fortitude as Guiliani, but he’s a Southerner, and he’s a lot easier on the eye and ear.
And I’d love to see him take on Hillary in a debate. Both of ‘em attorneys, but I believe he’d blow her out of the water, and she’d be running for cover.
Thompson is the kind of leader that will regenerate the Republicans, just like Reagan. I pray he runs, and wins. We need him.

vwlarry   May 6th, 2007 - 3:35 am

I’m leaving the hair-splitting and navel-contemplation to other, more “pure” conservatives, whateverthehell they are. This is the man who can, and will, carry the GOP into another two terms in the White House. They guy hasn’t even STARTED yet, and he’s kicking butts! Can you tell I like Fred Thompson yet?558183

[...] Click here for interview! Digg this [...]

[...] Click here for interview! Bookmark this story to your favorite service: [...]

Winghunter   May 6th, 2007 - 5:22 am

Have you seen ‘Fredipedia’?

Watch, listen and read more about Fred;

http://feedlot.blogspot.com/2007/04/everything-fred-thompson-fredipedia.html

Tru   May 6th, 2007 - 8:00 am

I believe there is a place for Fred! in 2008, but it’s not as POTUS.
Age being the denominator that decides against him – his own, and that of his wife’s.

Ken   May 6th, 2007 - 9:45 am

Nice job Fred!

The ONLY guy from the vast array of candidates from both parties that doesn’t come across as a typical transparent phony pol….

“Don’t want to be known as the tallest midget in the room….” LOL! Brilliant! Though the liberals will likely accuse him hate-speech against little people!

Jack’s Newswatch   May 6th, 2007 - 10:12 am

[...] Breitbart TV tracked him down.  A 13 minute video is available. [...]

KYJurisDoctor   May 6th, 2007 - 11:02 am

I’m one of those waiting for Fred Thompson to announce his candidacy. Join the chat:

http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2007/05/fred-thompson-speaks-to-oc-lincoln-club.html#links

DelaWhere   May 6th, 2007 - 11:30 am

Run Fred Run!

He is the ONLY candidate I see out there that I can fully support and work enthusiastically on the campaign for.

‘Look ‘em in the eye and tell ‘em what they need to hear.’

It sure works for me…

Itti-bitty-jad – Watch out – a Huge American Bald Eagle who is already polling 14% even before he begins the race, is coming to get’cha…

ptg   May 6th, 2007 - 12:03 pm

Fred Thompson should be the next President of the United States. The more I learn about Fred Thompson, the more I am impressed.

Sissy Willis   May 6th, 2007 - 1:00 pm

My gut feeling is that Fred Thompson’s come-from-behind “strategery” is akin to that of “dark bay colt” Street Smart at yesterday’s Kentucky Derby. As his jockey said, his voice atremble, “I’ve got all the faith in the world in this horse.”

http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2007/05/ive_got_all_the.html

[...] Senator Thompson gives an internet video interview. [...]

[...] tip to Erick Erickson at RedState for linking to Fred Thompson’s interview on Breitbart.tv, the latest creation of Andrew Breitbart, longtime sidekick to Matt Drudge. Breitbart is in the [...]

Jonathan Andrew   May 6th, 2007 - 9:26 pm

Run, Fred, Run!

Excellent interview and video – just too bad the focus was on the blinds. Kinda distracting. Nice work!!

NoVa YR for FDT   May 6th, 2007 - 9:33 pm

FDT provides a great interview, demonstrates he is not afraid of web cams, bloggers and new media and shows his authenticity. Great job on the interview breitbart.tv!

Any Virginians out there, check out:

http://www.virginiansforfredthompson.blogspot.com

[...] is emerging as a major candidate while hardly spending anything at all. His strategic appearance on Breitbart.tv was brilliant. And thanks to Drudge it is now going viral. Cost to Thompson: car [...]

Margaret   May 7th, 2007 - 6:38 am

I like him too — only three caveats, McCain-Feingold support, and how pro-life is he? I haven’t heard his immigration stance other than concern for “porous borders,” but is he for strong border control, enforcement of laws on the books, and deportation, and less immigration from the Middle East for example?

I would like to hear more from Duncan Hunter who has been, and is, a genuine, down the pike, conservative.

What Fred has going for him is warmth, directness without being abrasive, name recognition and enough concern about Islamic Jihadism to win my interest.

Sue   May 7th, 2007 - 7:13 am

A politician that can actually speak without a prompter, cushioned by a lefty and makes common sense…..awesome!!! Only thing: what kind of questions are these? How about old Hillary at Breitbart or Silky Pony? Better, Obama with handelers…whoa, I’ll bookmark and check this site out.

Superman K Rockefeller   May 7th, 2007 - 7:53 am

Can I have a direct link to the video? I prefer not to insall Flash stuff etc. Utube’s method of forcing you to use their site is dumb.

Tom   May 7th, 2007 - 8:01 am

Run Fred RUN!

We are all waiting on you… At the moment, all the rest of the pack are “fighting to be the tallest midget in the room”. We need someone with real stature.

Actually, the real problem is communication. We need someone who CAN talk around the MSM and talk to the people.

uncgmom   May 7th, 2007 - 8:13 am

Where can I read a transcript of this interview?

Freelancer   May 7th, 2007 - 9:52 am

For Margaret,

It takes very little effort to determine a former senator’s voting record on issues you care about. Search on “congressional scorecard” (but don’t use Google, they have recently purged most conservative groups’ scorecards from their results), and you will find dozens of different groups, both left and right, that rate legislators on their issues votes. What’s nice about those is you can compare how the ACLU, Sierra Club, and NARAL rate someone’s votes against how the Club for Growth, Heritage Foundation, or Landmark Legal Foundation score the same legislator.

Fred Thompson scores very well to the right on all issues, including pro-life, 2nd amendment, and law & order. He also is a strong federalist, willing to stand alone against the crowd on states’ rights.

Cro   May 7th, 2007 - 10:26 am

RUN, Fred, RUN!!!

You are our only hope obi-Fred!

GearMaven   May 7th, 2007 - 2:04 pm

Interesting for an intro to Fred; will be looking elsewhere for the indepth issue stuff, his voting record and statements. I really like both his and Newt’s straight and intellligent talk and emphasis that the “campaign” itself and polls are not important…the fate of the country is!! Really like those two.

Mark Daniels   May 7th, 2007 - 2:49 pm

This interview makes clear, as nothing else has, that Thompson is running. In today’s atmosphere, it’s often true that everybody wants you to run until you actually do. I talked about that here this morning: http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2007/05/its-turn-around-jump-shot-its-everybody.html

Mark Daniels

cmernitz   May 7th, 2007 - 3:35 pm

I would like GOOGLE to respond to FREELANCER.

Horse   May 7th, 2007 - 3:56 pm

Thunder, don’t worry about plan B, we don’t even have a plan A.

Let’s hope Fred Thompson is plan A for the Republicans.

Bowie Charleston   May 7th, 2007 - 4:12 pm

Go Man Go!

I saw the Lincoln Club speech in Orange County CA over the week end.

I was so glad to see his ways and tone and articulation and say enforce the borders before you do anything regarding the status of illegals in country.

Hats off to breirbart.tv for a superb interview. Nice to see a real person discuss being our leader.

David Vilt   May 7th, 2007 - 4:35 pm

Fred is a great guy and sounds great. But, his record in the Senate was not impressive. He has no track record in business or government exective/leadership. How can we conclude he’d be a great President? He interviews nicely for the job, but his resume is way too weak.

Phil Hooper   May 7th, 2007 - 5:01 pm

Fred, you can count on my full support. For first time in my life I will give to a political campaign. Watch your back. Ask for a SS detail NOW! And whatever you do, stay away from Fort Marcey Park.

Kenny Beam   May 7th, 2007 - 5:06 pm

Jimmy Carter – ouch! Bill Clinton – ouch! Preach on Fred! November’s comin’!

jules   May 7th, 2007 - 5:46 pm

Margaret,

How about a Thompson/Hunter ticket? :)

Rich   May 7th, 2007 - 6:50 pm

I voted for him in Tennessee, and was sad to see him leave. I can tell ya one thing though. What he said that he would stand for, he stood for. The way he said that he would vote, he voted. His integrity is tops; that’s what we need in today’s world…

Go Fred!!!

[...] Thompson has supplanted John McCain as the straight-talker in the race for the White House. In an interview at BreitBart.tv, Thompson casually discusses how he is considering his run. There’s no policy shared, but it [...]

Breitbart TV « Buttle’s World   May 7th, 2007 - 10:12 pm

[...] love to see every politician be interviewed in a long, single take the way Fred Thompson was. (Although Breitbart does need to fire the one-eyed, gimpy camera man.) This isn’t going [...]

[...] The Next Step in Internet News May 8, 2007 Posted by Riley, Not O’Reilly in 2008 Elections, Media. trackback Drudge pal Breitbart has launched the next step in internet news — Breitbart.tv.  Until now, Breitbart has supplied Drudge with wire service news reports.  Now, he branches out to video.  First up, an interview with Fred Thompson. [...]

James H Peterson MD   May 8th, 2007 - 6:10 am

very good interview

Bowie Charleston   May 8th, 2007 - 6:13 am

Hey Jules,

You must have that ESPN or something because I thought the same thing. A Thompson/Hunter ticket would cover the South and the West (California). This would cover the ‘What if he dies? Who would be in charge?’ issue and Duncan Hunter brings strong conservatism to the table.

eddie   May 8th, 2007 - 7:49 am

All positions aside, Fred brings something to the table that no other candidate has brought in a long time… namely, a sense of presence, an ability to speak in a manner that you WANT to listen to, and a presence that radiates calm, cool, control… the traditional leadership qualities. The man opens his mouth for ten seconds and you have to grant him respect, whether you agree with him or not… his presence is just that powerful.

It’s a quality that I, for one, would love to see in the Oval Office.

Teri Pittman   May 8th, 2007 - 10:45 am

Fred has non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It’s the same illness my grandmother had. His doctor said the same thing my grandmother’s doctor said “Old age will kill you before this cancer does.” My grandmother lived to be 96 and did die of old age before the cancer killed her. This particular type of cancer should be a non-issue.

[...] * My friend Andy Breitbart (you may recognize his name from breitbart.com) has just launched breitbart.tv. Andy is the real brain behind the Huffington Post, and also operates the Drudge Report with Matt Drudge. More important, he’s a prince of a guy and I adore the hell out of him. Check out breitbart.tv’s exclusive post-debate interview with Fred Thompson. [...]

Sandy   May 8th, 2007 - 1:10 pm

He’s a straight shooter, a dynamic leader and a great communicator. I wish he had run 6 years ago . . . But please run now. Our country needs you.

Bob from Salem, WI   May 8th, 2007 - 2:34 pm

Fred is so articulate, intelligent, and plain-spoken. GOP base needs this guy to run, so that they will be re-energized.

Fred- YOU fit the times……I can envision you in a debate against Hillary– just speaking your mind, while Hillary huffs and puffs and rants her away in justifying her multiple positions on the issues.

Tootsie   May 8th, 2007 - 2:57 pm

He does not look robust. He looks like he’s failing. That really sucks, because America (and the world) are in desperate need for his kind of “horse sense.” And the media, like hungry lions, WILL take him down.

shocker.   May 8th, 2007 - 4:45 pm

Damn it McClaine! Get out of my tower!

Rhett F   May 8th, 2007 - 6:49 pm

He isn’t enthusiastic enough. He came across as smart, but he just lacks the excitement and well-spokeness that is required to be elected President.

I like him, but he just isn’t exciting.

[...] Fred Thompson the best candidate for President? Right now, I think so. Why? He’s the only one I’ve heard recently, that [...]

TowerTone   May 8th, 2007 - 6:58 pm

I would love to see Fred run with Mitt as V.P., and later with Rudy as Secretary of State, McCain as Secretary of Defense, Huckabee as Chief of Staff, Lieberman as Ambassador to the U.N., Ron Paul as Secretary of Treasury, and so on until they are all used for their individual talents. As if THAT could happen!

[...] A video interview. [...]

Kent   May 8th, 2007 - 9:49 pm

I was struck by the comment that Fred “isn’t exciting.” Forget exciting. If there was a less important quality, I couldn’t think of it. Fred speaks in a manner that everyone can understand without talking down to everyone. Unlike 99.82% of the left, he understands that we are in a war for western civlization. EVERY other issue is utterly irrlevant. The democrats are all running to see who can get the tiger to eat them last.

[...] ThompsonTalking Posted by Pat Dollard [...]

Deborah   May 9th, 2007 - 5:24 am

Go Fred! How about a Thompson-squared ticket? Fred for President and Tommy for Veep!

MT   May 9th, 2007 - 4:18 pm

RUN FRED RUN!

Fred is the post-9/11 Reagan we so desperately need.

Fred Thompson is a leader. He has the natural qualities of a leader: wisdom, common sense, and vision. He also has the uncommon ability (verified by an acting career) to clearly and convincingly articulate that vision in a simple way to ‘regular’ folks. He is the man for the times.

If he announces and runs full speed he will win the presidential election hands down.

CWT   May 9th, 2007 - 4:33 pm

Fred has my vote! I believe that our President needs to represent our values. Speaking the plain truth with the knowledge that we are not children and understand how the world works. Common Sense answers for our toughest questions. Even as an actor you could count on his personality to be the same. True or not that tells me you are getting what you see.
I hope and pray that Fred decides to run. Whatever time we can have him in that position will surely make us all better. He gets respect because he gives respect.

Eric from Iowa   May 9th, 2007 - 5:56 pm

Excellent! Although I had heard of Fred before, I’d never seen him talk. I like what I saw in him. I certainly thought the interview was great, too: good questions, nice video.

marp   May 9th, 2007 - 6:20 pm

David,
I get your point about experience, BUT compared to whom in the current field? Giuliani – Mayor of NYC, granted a big city, but I don’t recall a former mayor ever being elected Pres. Romney – my fave of the current group, but only a 1-term Gov. McCain is the only 1 with a longer term in the Senate and I don’t like his record of what he’s done while there. Hillary – 1.5 term senator, Obama – 1 term senator. In terms of governing experience, this is not a stellar crowd, and with Fred’s Senate experience and just plain ‘common sense’ attitude, I think the guy is a legitimate contender!

David Vilt   May 14th, 2007 - 5:12 pm

Marp,
You forget Mitt Romney’s outstanding PRIVATE sector experience and success in big time corporate business. Adding his total PRIVATE and PUBLIC sector years of executive leadership experience, Mitt, by far, beats out all the other candidates.

[...] gave an interview to Breitbart.tv that is available here.  It is a little over 12 minutes long, but I encourage you to watch it. It not only gives you a [...]

Mandi B   May 16th, 2007 - 11:17 pm

I have been dreading the campaigning for ‘08 ever since ‘04. Knowing who the usual suspects for the GOP ticket were going to be hasn’t helped. I’m praying for the day Fred announces so I can get out there to support his run. GO FRED!!!

Steve from Tennessee   May 27th, 2007 - 10:49 pm

Fred Thompson was a GREAT asset to the Sate of Tennessee!!! This guy is the real thing you all, what you see IS what you get. I have read things on this page like…”what about his age, his cancer, yadda….yadda….” What about it? What are you going to do when you FINALLY figure out that Giuliani is really a democrat in republicans clothing??? Yeah…yeah….”he did such a great job during 9/11….Time to come down from the cross guys….if New Orleans would have had the government and public sympathy and financing NY had….Nagin could run on the republican ticket…
This guy is real….you get what you see…He is a man of character also…VOTE FOR FRED….You WILL NOT be sorry.

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Great Vid.
Is there a url to embed the video on myspace?

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[...] aside andadmonished by the media for waiting the last minute to run – but it is his character not to make harsh or quick decisions that are important, which is what we need in Congress multiplied by an additional 499. It has to do [...]

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