An Invigorated Fred Thompson

Reporters who become embedded in the various campaigns have noticed a big change lately. Fred Thompson has become amazingly invigorated and is running as if he intends to win.

This is great news, for Thompson got off to a rather slow start following being catapulted to the front-runner status just after he announced. That initial bounce came back to earth in a hurry as Thompson settled in 2nd place behind Rudy Giuliani.

The buzz was that he lacked 'the fire in the belly' to be President.

And, to some degree, he acted like it, though I never put much credence in the conclusions of mainstream media naysayers who wish to put every candidate into a prescribed mold so that they can be manipulated.

Yet perceptions matter, and many formed the impression of Thompson that he didn't have his heart in the campaign.

Apparently that has changed...bigtime.

Larry Kudlow of William F. Buckley's National Review, was perhaps the first to notice the change, since he had been one of the ones critical of Thompson early on.

Kudlow tells about an interview he conducted recently with Thompson during which the candidate was enthusiastic, focused, motivated, and possessed a thorough knowledge of the facts that back up his views with a precision that few in politics can muster these days.

But Kudlow isn't the only one noticing the change. Reports from across the country indicate that Thompson has honed his skills in campaigning (it is important to remember he hasn't campaigned in several years) and has zeroed in on the message he wants to deliver.

That message is that he is a small town native with small town values--values that connect with the vast majority of Americans. He is conservative but not radical. He is pro-life but doesn't support throwing doctors and their female patients in jail for having abortions. He supports the Second Amendment with a passion that no other candidate exhibits besides Ron Paul. He castigates his 'johnny-come-lately' rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for their sudden and mysterious change of heart on gun rights. He believes that taxes should be kept low and that government should be small. Yet he doesn't think it is necessary to tamper with the Constitution to do any of these things.

Further, Thompson has a comprehensive plan on immigration reform that would stop the flow of illegal aliens into the country and promote legal immigration without granting amnesty to anyone.

And this is not to mention that he is wary of Communist regimes and sees Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez for what they are--two lawless totalitarian thugs.

Thompson has always talked about these things on the campaign trail. The difference is that now he does so with vigor and determination.

It would be a major mistake to count him out. The major polls conducted by Zogby and Reuters suggest that among GOP voters who are extremely likely to vote, Thompson is closing in on Rudy's lead and is actually in a statistical dead-heat.

This strongly suggests that the conventional wisdom one hears in the mainstream media, even on Fox, is dead-wrong.