Thompson's interest in sports waned when he fell for Sarah Lindsey, a local beauty queen and daughter of a prominent family. She was a year ahead of him in school; he cut practice to spend time with her. A few months after she graduated, Sarah got pregnant. Thompson was 16. He proposed, but her parents wouldn't hear of it. Sarah was on her way to Vanderbilt to study English; they weren't about to let her tie herself down to a goof-off who they didn't believe had much of a future. Still, Sarah insisted that there was something special about Freddie, and she urged them to trust her. In September 1959, two weeks after Thompson's 17th birthday, they were married. They named their son, born the next spring, Fred Jr. A senior in high school, Thompson was a husband and father.snip: Here's a glimpse of the way he'll campaign, and sadly, I think he could win with it!
The old line in Washington is that freshman senators are supposed to be seen and not heard, but Thompson was no ordinary newcomer. His movie stardom gave him unusual influence. In December 1994, Bill Clinton delivered a major economic address on live television. Bob Dole, the Republican leader and a fan of Thompson's movies, picked him to deliver the GOP's response. Thompson took it for what it was: an acting job. Perched on the edge of his desk, he delivered bromides about tax cuts and small government in a folksy, down-home tone that won him immediate comparisons with Reagan. Tom Shales, The Washington Post's tough TV critic, called him a "first-class communicator." Clinton enjoyed Thompson's sermon so much he sent him a cigar and a letter of praise. "I had to fight with my staff as to whether I should smoke the cigar or keep it as a memento from the President," Thompson wrote Clinton. "We compromised. I am going to keep the tube it came in." (The letter, along with thousands of other documents from Thompson's time in the Senate, is archived at the University of Tennessee.)
snip: Now I know who's really behind the Thompson candidacy!
Back home in Tennessee, Howard Baker once again had bigger things in mind for his protégé. Late last year Baker and his Republican friends were casting around for a presidential candidate to back in 2008. None of the contenders impressed them. Sitting at his desk in his law office in Huntsville, Tenn., Baker called Thompson and told him he was going to float his name in GOP circles. Thompson didn't try to stop him.snip: Interesting conclusion.
But in recent weeks Thompson himself has stepped in to bring order to the campaign. Jeri appears to have given over some control to a new campaign manager—Bill Lacy, a veteran GOP strategist who directed Thompson's Senate runs. "I think things are more settled," says Ingram. Thompson still has some kinks to work out. For all his oratorical skills, he has yet to get the hang of giving a rousing stump speech. In Indianapolis two weeks ago, he delivered a somber assessment of America's future that left his audience deflated. Thompson, who has already been president three times in the movies, is about to find out how much harder it is to play commander in chief when you don't have a script.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20546334/site/newsweek/I believe this is the entire Newsweek article from the Sept. 10th issue. It's quite an interesting article on old Freddie!