The Real Fred Thompson

But how much do we really know about Mr. Thompson? We chatted with former Thompson staffers who gave us some insight into the political Flavor of the Month:

» Thompson’s an introvert. “The joke was always that if you went to a party looking for Fred Thompson, he’d be the guy in the corner with a drink. … This is a guy who doesn’t like retail politics and never has.” Could this explain why Thompson’s already admitted that much of his fundraising will take place on the Internet?

» He’s not necessarily lazy, as some have indicated. “Fred is probably less lazy than he is unconcerned about simply looking busy. Some people — most people, I think — believe that rushing around is the same thing as getting something done. Fred knows better.”

» Don’t completely buy into the argument that Thompson’s acting skills make him a natural on the stump. “He’s a hell of a script reader,” said one source, “but he stinks at speaking extemporaneously. … If you give him a topic and tell him to extemporize, you will pull your hair out.” This could, of course, affect his performance during the debates. “He’s good with a quick retort, but he can’t sustain it. I think he’ll learn. He’s a smart man and a quick learner.”

» We also learned that Thompson, before a big speech, tends to read the speech over first, take notes in the margins, then deliver the actual speech by merely taking cues from his notes. But he may want to change this: “He does best when he reads from the text. Give him the script.”