Richard Land Warms to Possible Thompson Candidacy

Much of the political news this week was about the fundraising by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Obama won the first round but they both raised a ton of cash. And cash is what it takes to run an effective campaign. Both should continue to be very formidable throughout the primary. John Edwards continues to hang around but Clinton and Obama will soon be chasing all other democratic candidates from the race.

In the midst of the reporting over the democratic fundraising, this article ran quietly. Richard Land, the president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, had positive comments to say about Fred Thompson. This is on the heels of James Dobson negative comments last week. Dr. Land had no praise for Rudy Guiliani or Newt Gingrich.

Also, this article brought Rudy Guiliani's liberal social views back to the forefront. As Dr. Land pointed out, most social conservatives will have trouble pulling the lever for Guiliani in the primary.

Senator Lamar Alexander was in Jackson today and spoke at a small gathering at the Old Country Store. The stop was part of his tour across the state announcing that he plans to seek reelection in 2008. Much of the talk in the room was also about a possible Fred Thompson campaign for the presidency.

The grassroots drive to draft Fred Thompson continues to grow. He must make a decision in the next couple of months, though. He is falling behind on fundraising -- although Thompson has the ability to raise money quickly. Mitt Romney had a huge first quarter in fundraising and it will take a lot for Thompson to catch-up to Romney in that area -- if he gets in -- given how late in the race it is. But from this poll that shows Thompson in third place in the republican field -- ahead of Romney -- you wouldn't know that Thompson isn't even in the race yet.

Jerome