Just when I was about to give up blogging completely, something interesting happens.

After last Sunday’s appearance on Fox News Sunday (transcript), the blogosphere is buzzing about Fred Thompson possibly throwing his hat into the ring. And the Hill’s Pundit Blog thinks the MSM is missing the boat by not recognizing the “surge” of grassroots support that is taking place:

The remnants of the Bush presidency and recent Republican Congress is a crisis of conservatism with a major backlash brewing beneath the surface. None of the Big Three (McCain, Romney, or Guiliani) has won the confidence of authentic conservatives. The boomlet for Fred Thompson will grow and challenge the conventional wisdom, again.

I think that’s right. The base of the party is disgusted, as evidenced by the last election and the constant refrain, “Reagan! Reagan! We need another Reagan!” None of the real contenders currently in the race fits the bill.

But when Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote an article asking WWRD (What Would Reagan Do?), she followed up with a blog post noting that “e-mailers overwhelmingly are saying ‘Fred Thompson.’ “

Fred Thompson may just be the man that gets us excited again. More importantly, he may be the only candidate that will get the conservative base out to the polls when it counts.

Doctor/Senator Bill Frist even did a special email with the subject line Frist: Fred Thompson Should Run for President. In part:

I believe Fred Thompson should run for President.

I’ve not talked with Fred personally about a potential run, so I am basing my thoughts simply on knowing him well, having worked with him in policy and politics everyday for 8 years, and knowing the people across America want a genuine leader who represents them.

Fred understands real people and they understand him. He understands the legislative process and has a strong bipartisan appeal, though he is a real conservative.

He has the experience of government service with a real appreciation for all three branches of government. He is a commonsense leader.

This entry was also posted on Frist’s blog and has already generated over 350 comments — almost all of which are positive. One commenter noted that Thompson was “presidential as a senator”.

The question on everybody’s mind is whether Thompson will even run. Everyone points out that he abruptly left politics when his daughter tragically died in January 2002, but I remember that he also said he was rather disgusted with politics in general. The partisan bickering finally got to him, like a grownup that has to get respite from a roomful of petulant children. His press release made that pretty clear, stating “I simply do not have the heart for another 6-year term.”

But assuming Thompson decides to run, is he really the Reaganesque conservative that the blogosphere says he is?

Reason Magazine tries to paint him as “a slightly more liberal version of John McCain“. After all, here is a man that voted for drilling ANWR but also voted for McCain-Feingold. His voting record says he is a right-leaning Moderate Populist Conservative, similar to John McCain.

[Note: Sensible Mom did a nice summary table in which she attempts to rank all the viable Republican candidates. I disagree with her decision not to use Thompson's old voting record, but otherwise it is a fine job.]

But it’s not only voting records and platforms that get candidates elected; don’t discount the charisma factor. And he’s got that in spades. Bill Hobbs notes:

Big themes, a willingness to face harsh reality, and a healthy dose of optimism in America’s ability to survive and thrive – Thompson’s hallmarks are those that made Reagan so popular.

Pundit John Podhoretz agrees:

It would be a terrific thing if Fred Thompson entered the race, because he’s a big personality with a remarkable command of the issues and the kind of eloquence that we’re only seeing right now from Barack Obama.

A Republican primary with Giuliani, McCain and Thompson duking it out would be a battle of titans – generating interest and enthusiasm that might provide a welcome contrast to the awkward conflicts among the Democrats.

But a presidential race gets dirty fast. There are mere rumors that Thompson may run and the papers are already gearing up the Smear-the-Republican machine [ht to MisterNashville], with lefty bloggers jumping on board.

Plus, Thompson has a skeleton or two in the closet, as seen in this analysis of the 2000 field of VP candidates [ht to Thoughts of an Average Woman]:

On the Republican side, Sen. Fred Thompson is said to have hurt his vice-presidential chances when his name was linked romantically to that of Margaret Carlson. The Time columnist and “Capital Gang” regular is reportedly too liberal for George W. Bush. Thompson’s standing was not enhanced when gossips said he was simultaneously involved with another woman.

But given that the last “popular” president desensitized the American public to sex scandals, and the fact that all the current candidates have fairly major issues of their own to overcome, Thompson could be the horse to bet on this political season.

What I remember is that while he was my Senator, I repeatedly wrote Fred Thompson to thank him for supporting an issue or standing up against something. I rarely wrote to complain.

I’m hopeful that in 2008 I may actually be able to vote for someone instead of against someone. Nice.

Just some of the grassroots that contribute to the “surge”:

• Draft Fred Thompson
• Fred Thompson President ’08
• Draft Fred Thompson for President 2008