Fred Dalton Thompson

I don’t bet on sporting events in part because my father used to preach that betting on anybody but you is stupid. I don’t bet on sporting events or elections also because I am always wrong. When Fred Thompson announced that he was going to run for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States I thought that he would win without “breaking a sweat.”

While I would never vote for Fred, I thought for sure that he had what it takes to get Republicans to vote for him. When Thompson was still in the U.S. Senate, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with him and his staff visiting various people and places. When the Senator visited a public housing project, women and children came from everywhere to just touch him and ask for autographs.

I was with Fred when he visited a small historically Black college. Students rolled out of classrooms and dormitories to get a look at the movie star/senator. Thompson made a boring speech about the greatness of America. The students wanted his autograph and pummeled him with questions about movies and the movie stars he knew.

On another occasion I was at a minor league baseball game with Thompson. Men, women, and children gushed over Fred. He couldn’t watch the game because so many folks asked for autographs. At that game I heard for the first time, Fred being urged to run for President since he had played one on television and in the movies. People loved Fred.

So I was sure that with all of his other qualifications, Fred’s stint on my favorite television show, Law and Order, would assure his victory as the Republican nominee. Boy was I wrong. Fred didn’t seem to have the proverbial “fire in the belly.” It is probably just as well since Fred can go back and make millions playing the president on television and in the movies.

This is another instance when I am reminded that my late father was a genius when he advised me how stupid it is to bet on anybody or anything.