It’s always fun to see a friend’s writing in print. It’s more fun when you discover it somewhere else. Which made it pretty cool when I noticed that Jim’s NY Sun column had made Memeorandum this morning. After patting myself on the back for my discovery, I took the time to actually read Jim’s column, and it was a good one.

In it, Jim suggests that by running for President, Fred Thompson may fill a key role that’s now vacant in the Republican field: “The role of the reliable longtime lawmaker who has no serious disagreements with the conservatives who make up the party’s base.”

Jim is absolutely right. And, using the NRA as a compelling example, he illustrates how each of the three current top contenders has a serious shortcoming with the core of the party.

So, is Thompson the answer? Certainly, he’s a great campaigner. (For political junkies out there, I am at pains to recall a better campaign ad than Thompson’s “Truck” spot.) He’s attractive, articulate, tough, and solid conservative. He comes across as thoughtful. As I understand his record, his only significant shortcoming is his support of the McCain-Feingold bill. I’d be interested to hear his position now that the law has demonstrated itself an abject failure.

So, if Thompson is the answer, what’s the question? It seems to me that we, as a party, need a candidate who can excite and enthuse the core of the party while at the same time appealing more broadly. Thompson, at least on first glance, strikes me as someone who could accomplish that.

Will he run? Who knows. Jim has information that suggests he might. I’m a little more skeptical. But at this point, I am convinced that his entry into the field would be a positive development, because the current field is so utterly lacking.

UPDATE: The Politico reports that Thompson is moving closer to making a run. It’s a great story and well worth the read.

Jim: First, Marshall, thanks for the kind words. The source I refer to said that Thompson’s chances are ”more than 50-50″ - but a 49 percent chance of not running is still a significant chance of not running.

I think I get what you’re hinting at. The GOP has no primogeniture candidate, no designated heir to Bush, and I for one am glad. I think deep, fundamental discussions and arguments about a party’s first principles are good for parties, even if they’re not so fun at the time. We had a good example of this phenomenon on this blog here. I could live with any of the Big Three GOP candidates - Giuliani, McCain, and Romney - but I realize some conservatives might see some of their stands as dealbreakers. (Taxpayer funding for abortion? Mr. Mayor, are you sure you really want this nomination that badly?)

The thing most conservatives know about Fred Thompson is that A) he hasn’t pissed them off on any major issue other than McCain-Feingold B) he’s not associated with the Hindenberg-crashing-into-the-Titanic mess that is the Bush administration at this moment and C) he’s good old Fred, who is probably one of the top five communicators in the party if not the best. (His radio commentaries, filling in for Paul Harvey, are brilliant in their simplicity and effectiveness.)

I said earlier that the Bush administration’s slipshod communications efforts made me want a world-class communicator in the Oval Office come January 20, 2009. (If a President Obama could make the case for American values and American policies effectively, and mitigate some of the brain-dead toddler tantrum of anti-Americanism taking root from London to Ankara to South America to the Mideast to Asia, then more power to him.) With Fred Thompson, I think many conservatives are looking and saying, “okay, Fred would be at least pretty good as a salesman for both the party and the country’s policies.”

I hate to say it, but look at how far charisma can take you. Chavez? He’s a buffoon, but the people love his speeches, so they ignore the fact that he keeps seizing more power in Venezuela. Ahmedinjiad? We keep hearing how the average Iranian feels like he represents them. Osama bin Laden’s supposed to be the most flowerly speaker of Arabic to come down the pike in a long time. We may think these guys come across as nuts, but they’re capable of tailoring their message and style to appeal to the street in their respective regions of the world, and then turn around and charm the hell out of the Mike Wallaces of the world. Meanwhile, we have a Vice President who hates dealing with the media (and it shows) and a President whose personal style only appeals to the reddest of red states.