Thompson Moves From 'If' He'll Run to 'How'

When a reporter asked how he can run as an outsider when he has been an insider for so long, Thompson rejected the label.

"I have never used the word 'outsider,' " Thompson scolded his questioner. "It's a delineation that doesn't mean anything. You don't have to be from Alaska or Hawaii to see faults with your government. I've been talking about things wrong with Washington when I was a part of it, before I was a part of it and since I was a part of it."

It's unclear whether the red pickup will resurface as part of his presidential campaign. Some aides are pushing for that image. Others say running for president is different.

"It's not a red pickup kind of campaign," one aide said.

Top advisers say they can finesse the clash between Thompson's anti-Washington theme and his years of service there with a simple message: Washington has lost its connection to the rest of the country.

"The politicians have lost their connection with what people really want and what they really expect," said a senior adviser who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. "The way he views being an outsider would be as someone who views the people inside the Beltway as not connected to the outside."

"It's a thought process, not a physical location," the adviser said of Thompson, who lives inside the Washington Beltway, in McLean.

Thompson's long connections to Washington have already surfaced as potential pitfalls.

Last month, the Democratic National Committee launched a preemptive attack against Thompson, issuing a dossier that described him as "a reliable supporter, defender of President Bush" who played "a key role in Bush Supreme Court nominations" and has a "lobbying career full of landmines."

In particular, the dossier noted Thompson's lobbying efforts on behalf of the failed savings and loan industry in the 1980s and his work as a registered foreign agent for former Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the early 1990s. It also sought to call attention to Thompson's vocal defense of convicted White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

"As part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby's legal defense fund," the DNC's executive director, Tom McMahon, wrote in an e-mail to party supporters. "Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would 'absolutely' pardon him."

Thompson's aides dismiss the lobbying criticism as "old news" leveled at him to no avail during his Senate campaigns in Tennessee. And Thompson's support for Libby may earn him points among conservative GOP voters, they say.

For now, Thompson is ignoring all those questions. His campaign doesn't respond to the attacks, and Thompson interacts with the press infrequently -- and usually only with reporters he deems friendly. His trip to New Hampshire last week was covered by Fox News, to whom he gave an exclusive interview.

On the stump, Thompson is still feeling his way.

At Riley's gun shop, he spent only a few minutes, chatting with several employees about how well the instant background check is working (fine, they said.) At the Merrimack Restaurant, a favorite of presidential candidates, he shook a few hands and quickly sat down with his wife and advisers for lunch. (He had a tuna sandwich and potatoes.)

His speeches, while getting better, are a bit unfocused. He often chews on his bottom lip, much as Bill Clinton did, to show he is thinking about an answer. But Thompson's presence is still larger than life, and audience members jumped to their feet several times last week, especially when he criticized the immigration bill that died in Congress.

"The bottom line is what's best for the strength and the long-term endurance of this country," he told the crowd in South Carolina. "And this immigration bill is not it."

The audience erupted in applause. One listener, a civil contractor from Dorchester County named Arthur Bryngelson, said later that he was impressed with Thompson.

"He does not like Washington," Bryngelson said. "He's in politics, but he's not of the Washington gentry."