Thompson says he'll run for U.S. president

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Fred Thompson said in an interview that he plans to run for U.S. president in 2008, joining a crowded field of Republican candidates.

"I can't remember exactly the point I said, 'I'm going to do this,'" Thompson said of his planned presidential run in Thursday's edition of USA Today.

"But when I did, the thing that occurred to me: 'I'm going to tell people that I am thinking about it and see what kind of reaction I get to it.'"

Thompson, a 64-year-old social conservative, said he was planning a campaign that will use blogs, video posts and other Internet innovations to reach voters turned off by "politics-as-usual" in both parties, USA Today said.

On Wednesday, a long-time friend and political adviser said Thompson had tentatively decided to run for president and that he has quit his role on the TV crime series "Law & Order."

"His mind is made up to run if interest continues to be as intense as it is," Tom Ingram said in a telephone interview.

Thompson, who won election twice as a Republican senator from Tennessee, will now begin raising money to gauge support, added Ingram, who serves as chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander, also a Tennessee Republican.

Late on Wednesday, "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf said Thompson had asked to leave the show where he has played New York District Attorney Arthur Branch for five seasons.

"I've spoken to Fred today, and although he told me he has not made a firm decision about his political future, he felt that given the creative and scheduling constraints of the upcoming season, he asked to be released from his responsibilities to the show," Wolf said in a statement.

Thompson joins a crowded Republican field with no dominant choice. President George W. Bush, prohibited from running for a third term in November 2008, is set to leave office in January 2009.

The current front-runners include former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Ingram said Thompson held a conference call with fund-raisers on Tuesday and it was decided that he would "test the waters" by setting up a preliminary committee.

Ten men are already running for the Republican nomination and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia also is weighing a campaign.

Thompson was first elected to the Senate in 1994 to fill Democrat Al Gore's seat when he became vice president. He maintained a solid conservative voting record.

(Additional reporting by JoAnne Allen in Washington and Dean Goodman in Los Angeles)