News analysis: Is Thompson the new Reagan?

As Fred Thompson mulls a run for the presidency, the ghost of the "Gipper" casts a shadow over the field

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Ronald W. Reagan (1911-2004)

On June 5, 2004, at 1:00 p.m. PST, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, died at home in Bel Air, California.

Ever since then, Republicans have been searching the political landscape for Reagan's reincarnate form.

Sadly for them, Reagan is still dead. And while we are at it, so are John F. Kennedy, "Bear" Bryant, Elvis Presley, Vince Lombardi and Jim Morrison.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Oh yeah, you're dead too.

In the constant search for the next American hero, we try to reshape previous icons onto the image of someone else.

Now, many Tennesseans and voters from all over the country have settled on Fred Thompson as being the next Reagan.

In the few weeks it has been since Tennessee's former U.S. Senator said that he was "considering" a run for the White House, praise and disdain have been heaped upon him from all quarters. He's been called everything from a great statesman to a lazy actor, a breathe of fresh air to the same ol' thing.

Then, earlier this week, ol' Fred turned up the heat a notch and revealed he is in remission from cancer. It was announcement that meant everything and nothing at the same time.

On one hand, it was a "clear the deck" revelation that get's the issue out of the way should Thompson announce that he is a candidate. On the other, a person you have heard of and may have met is in remission for cancer, and so life goes on.

Thompson did an exceptional job in releasing the information on his terms. All sorts of media types have been giving him a good grade for his candor.

But no matter what pundit, blogger, or political hack you have heard from as of late, there was always that comparison to Reagan.

One of the funnier Reagan comparisons came from Nashville's own Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Religious and Ethics Liberty Commission. Land told the Washington, D.C. political newspaper The Hill, "Fred Thompson reminds me of a Southern-fried Reagan."

While the comparisons that most people, like Land, are making are meant to be a compliment, it's a heavy burden to bear and sets up unrealistic expectations that are frankly unfair to Thompson.

For that matter, it has also been unfair to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, President George W. Bush, and every other GOP heavyweight that has ever temporarily been given the mantle.

The purveyors of the Reagan mythology have locked on Thompson for now because he is an "actor turned statesman turned actor." The other common thread that the Reagan acolytes follow is that Thompson would follow in Reagan's footsteps because he is articulate and will become the next "Great Communicator."

Yes, Thompson can put a complete sentence together without grimacing.

Yes, Reagan was a master of verbal imagery.

No, that doesn't mean they are alike.

Should Thompson declare for the presidency, he will rise or fall on his own merits.

He will have to tell Americans what his plans are for the Middle East, what should be done about North Korea, what can be done to stem the rising cost of health care, what his plans are for public education, etc...

While Reagan faced the very same questions listed above, so has every other president since Harry Truman left office in 1953.

Reagan served his country, a country that needed the hope of a better tomorrow and had lost its sense of greatness.

His predecessor, President Jimmy Carter, had said that the country was suffering from a "crisis of confidence," and he was right. The crisis of confidence was in Carter's leadership, the country had none.

Much of the cult of personality that surrounds Reagan is that he "brought America back" from the poor leadership of the Carter era. If we as an American people need another "Reagan" that also means that we have had another "Carter" that we must be rescued from.

Love or hate Reagan, the man did bring a swagger back to the American people as a whole, but that was a long time ago.

When Reagan left office Saddam Hussein was an ally, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Seinfeld had yet to premiere, and the Houston Oilers sat at home watching the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl.

If we as an American people must consult a Ouija board to elect our next president, then we are all in trouble.

Let Fred Thompson be who he is and explain how he sees our "shining city on a hill" should he decide to run. Making him, or any other person, out to be something they are not is a set-up for massive disappointment.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to watch Law & Order re-runs before its too late.