Thompson tests waters in N.H.
Possible candidate seen as blank slate
BEDFORD, N.H. -- In his first trip to New Hampshire, former US senator and television actor Fred Thompson faced an audience with questions.
Conservative activists wondered whether he was the Reagan-like candidate they have been waiting to support. Members of the New Hampshire political establishment wondered whether he would be able to translate positive buzz into a traditional campaign. But underneath it all was a more basic question: Who is this guy?
Thompson, who served one term as a Republican senator from Tennessee and has had a lucrative acting career, is considering whether to enter the Republican presidential race at a time when many in the party's base aren't pleased with their choices.
Polls in South Carolina and Nevada indicate that he is the leading choice of likely Republican voters in those states.
"What I hear from conservatives is that they like Thompson, but they have no reason to dislike him," said state Representative Fran Wendelboe, a New Hampton Republican who is a leader of the state's social conservatives. "With McCain, people don't like his stance on immigration. With Romney, it is the flip-flop thing. With Giuliani . . . where do I start? But with Thompson, he is a blank slate and people really want him to work out."
As Thompson stepped off his private plane and headed toward a large, black sport utility vehicle, he was greeted by about 25 Republican lawmakers and activists holding signs declaring themselves "Fred-Heads."
Among those waiting at the airport was Scott Coffran, who drove from his hometown of Windsor, Vt., to Manchester to see Thompson.
"Hopefully he can bring us back to reality," Coffran said. "What we have now are a bunch of candidates with long to-do lists, but Thompson speaks clearly about who he is and, like Reagan, about how we can move the country forward."
From the airport Thompson went to a gun store in Hooksett, where he asked the owners how instant background checks for customers were working. He also asked about gun scopes.
This week Thompson made his first trips to South Carolina and New Hampshire , both states with early presidential primaries.
Asked in an interview whether his fans want him to run or whether they simply want a conservative to run, Thompson said he was in the Granite State "to find that out."
Later at a fund-raiser for Republican state senators, Thompson was more sanguine . "I don't have any big announcements, but I do plan on seeing a whole lot more of you. How about that," said Thompson.
"I think [voters] are ready for a little common sense in the United States of America," he said later.
A spokesman said Thompson may enter the race within a matter of weeks. 