Lights, Camera, President?

May 4, 2007— -- From his frequent TV appearances, blogging on conservative Web sites and planned speaking engagements before Republican groups in Connecticut and Virginia, Fred Thompson leaves little doubt that he is running for president.

He provides an attractive package to many conservative voters and pundits who are looking look for an ideologically traditional, electable and articulate standard bearer.

Once he becomes an official candidate, scrutiny of his record and views will get under way. For now, one of the few complaints about him seems to be the dig that he lacked energy and doggedness in his Senate years.

Exhibit A is his unfocused and ultimately unsuccessful chairmanship of the hearings on Clinton/Gore fundraising practices.

In short, the whisperers say he is lazy.

This is translated into the speculation that maybe he will be a less committed and focused candidate, unwilling or unaware of the demands of the campaign. This is a particular problem, so the criticism goes, for someone starting late in the race with no funds and no state organizations.

Rather than dispute this or assure voters and potential supporters of his energetic determination, he has taken an interesting tact.

In a Neil Cavuto interview, Thompson said, "Going on the road for months at a time, and for all practical purposes, just checking [in] every once in a while, I wouldn't do that. I don't think it has to be done that way. I know people will expect that of everyone -- to run frenetically around for years. And I don't do frenetic very well."

A Thompson aide explained subsequently in a politico.com story that Thompson needn't trudge incessantly through primary states like other candidates, saying, "Because of his name ID, he doesn't have to go diner to diner and church to church."

Another potential campaign supporter remarked, "Well-known candidates can do things a little differently. You show up, you're accessible, but you don't have to go to every county seat several times."

In essence, the Thompson and his supporters seem to be touting a new style of campaign "lite," making full use of technology and Thompson's well-known and highly appealing persona to avoid the grueling campaign trail taken by others.

Thompson says he is not like anyone else in the field.

In a Hannity and Colmes interview, Thompson explained his personal style: "People say, is there the fire in the belly? I'm kind of a slow-moving, slow-talking kind of guy, a lot of times. I enjoy life, and I enjoy a good laugh. The only two elections I've ever run, I've won. And I won back home with greater margins than anybody else in the history -- greater numbers than anybody else in the history of Tennessee."

Put simply, Thompson says other guys work too hard at campaigning with little to show for it.

Thompson may be right that less is more.

His Republican competitors, with their endless cycle of campaign stops and public remarks, run the risk of overexposure and the inevitable gaffes that beset any campaign on the road week after week in the glare of 24-hour cable news.

Newt Gingrich identified the problem of too much time, too many consultants and too much campaigning. Fewer opportunities to slip up and less time to wear on voters' nerves may be a good thing, especially if you already have a well-known face and voice. Thompson seems to have listened to Newt and is banking on a 21st-century version of the back porch campaign.

However, the strategy is not without its risks. New Hampshire and Iowa voters are famously self-centered and actually expect candidates to show up and work for their votes.

It is no wonder that Sen. John McCain's recent visits and bus tours have resulted in a boost in his New Hampshire and Iowa poll numbers. A candidate who "phones it in" (or "telecasts it in," as some suggest he might) may be viewed by demanding primary voters as lackadaisical, or worse, arrogant.

Whatever their faults, the current group of contenders cannot be criticized for lack of doggedness.

McCain has created an aura of energy and vitality to counteract concerns about his age. Rudy Giuliani's enthusiastic and fast-talking delivery conveys a sense of purpose and drive. Gov. Mitt Romney's detailed policy plans and well- polished PowerPoint presentations reflect someone willing to put time and energy into the race and ultimately, withstand the demands of the presidency. Thompson suggests he will bring a wholly different style.

How voters will view a slow talking, ambling figure remains to be seen.

Thompson is also betting that voters have not had their fill of a president who speaks with a rural accent and who is culturally rooted outside urban America.

McCain, Giuliani and Romney all depart sharply from the Southern, Christian evangelical profile that has come to embody the GOP but also limit its appeal to urban and ethnic voters. Their supporters have calculated that this will be a welcomed change for the party regulars and will also help secure states like Ohio and Virginia, which are slowly drifting away from the GOP.

As Chris Matthews put it, many Americans may look in 2008 for a president who does not own a ranch.

In stark contrast to his opponents, Thompson is hoping that his folksy charm and red pickup truck do not seem tiresome (or worse, annoying) to voters who inhabit urban and suburban America. Besides, if this is the genuine Thompson, he may be figuring that it is better to embrace the real down-home guy than affect the image of a phony urbanite.

Most noticeably, the style that Thompson seeks to project would be a radical departure from the image of the modern presidency.

The president has come to be seen as the fixer-in-chief. We expect him to dash to each disaster, comfort the fallen in national tragedies, provide PowerPoint presentations on the war and then fix Social Security. The president rarely spends a full week in the White House; he jets about the country and the world for events large and small.

Thompson may suggest a different pace for the presidency. Perhaps all this racing about and multitasking does not leave room for reflection or schmoozing the loyal opposition. A more contemplative, calmer presidency may be a welcome relief.

The risk, of course, is that voters may think this is nice in concept but doubt whether it is possible. The White House, after all, is not a think tank or a meditation center, and the world sometimes does demand someone who "does frenetic." In the end, voters may conclude that the Thompson approach is antiquated and even dangerous in a post 9/11 world.

So Thompson offers the conservative GOP base a comfortable alternative to the current crop of contenders. He requires little ideological compromise, has not offended any constituency within the party and promises to avoid a knock-down, drag-out fight with social conservatives.

And yet, after 9/11 and eight years of George Bush, voters will have to decide whether less really is more.

If so, Thompson, at his own pace and in his own style, may be their man.

Jennifer Rubin is a writer and attorney in Virginia.