Below The Beltway

Fred Thompson is playing his cards very close to his vest, but he sure as heck sounds like a guy seriously thinking about running for President:

WASHINGTON — Fred Thompson thinks there isn’t enough “star” power in the GOP presidential field, so the professional actor and former Tennessee senator is considering getting into the 2008 race.

Thompson, who plays district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC’s drama “Law & Order,” said Sunday that he’s going to “leave the door open” and make a decision in the coming months.

“I’m going to wait and see what happens,” Thompson said. “I want to see my colleagues on the campaign trial, what they say, what they emphasize, whether they can carry the ball next November.”

“I think people are somewhat disillusioned. A lot of people are cynical out there. They’re looking for something different,” he said.

Thompson, 64, said he was pondering a run after former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and other Tennessee Republicans began drumming up support for his possible GOP candidacy, citing his conservative credentials.

Thompson could be a very interesting candidate. He’s generally conservative, although he has said that he would let individual states decide whether to allow civil unions for homosexuals, and he has the kind of experience in front of a camera that would go him well in a Presidential campaign. Heck, he’s played the President of the United States on more than one occasion.

As I stated on Friday, it is clear that there are many in the GOP who are unhappy with the current crop of candidates. Unlike Newt Gingrich, the other GOP stalking horse often mentioned as a potential candidate, Thompson has no political baggage and a generally good reputation. He could go far.