For Thompson, It's Showtime

"In the real world, Republican primary voters are looking for a conservative candidate who can win in November of 2008," said Thompson communications director Todd Harris. "They are far more concerned about that than they are the daily dribblings of the national press corps."

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Richard Land, a leading voice in the Baptist community, compared Thompson to Ronald Reagan, who also endured often harsh criticism from dubious political elites early in his career.

"He may have Reagan's Teflon quality," said Land, who does not endorse candidates but is fond of Thompson. "Fred Thompson is a person who connects with average voters."

Land points as evidence to polls that show Thompson in a strong position nationally and leading or in second place in several early primary states. A Des Moines Register poll released yesterday shows Thompson ahead of everyone in Iowa except former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

It is also possible that Thompson's debate performance will be overshadowed by an increasingly hostile exchange between Romney and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. The two have sparred for days about taxes and spending -- issues likely to be front and center at the economics-oriented debate.

The spat continued yesterday, with a Romney e-mail to reporters titled "BIG CITY, BIG SPENDER: Mayor Giuliani Left New York City With 'Enormous Deficits. ' "

But Thompson's supporters recognize that today's debate, sponsored by MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal, will be their candidate's first big-time performance before a live national audience.

They have been prepping Thompson for days, giving him policy briefings at his Virginia headquarters and sending him out on the campaign trail with thick binders to study. There have been several mock debates aimed at getting Thompson used to the format. The last time he debated formally was almost 13 years ago.

Thompson's screen career should be a plus, aides say. He is used to the camera and is comfortable in front of an audience. And he's not unfamiliar with the presidential debate process. In 1996, he acted as Bill Clinton during debate preparation for GOP candidate Robert J. Dole.

"Fred needs to be Fred. That's my point of view," said one Republican supporter close to the campaign. "He will answer the questions. That's what he should do."

But others set the bar higher for Thompson.

"He needs to show he's in midseason form," said David Keating, executive director of the Club for Growth, a conservative group. "People are expecting a lot more from him. He was talking about running a different kind of a campaign to tackle the big problems. It could be really interesting if he really does that."

Ayres said Thompson took a risk by waiting to enter the presidential race until after summer had ended. Doing so robbed him of the ability to work out campaign kinks when few people are watching, he said.

"That's one of the costs of waiting to enter," Ayres said yesterday. "You don't have a shakedown cruise with less publicity. The spotlight is shining brightly on all the credible candidates."

Asked whether poll numbers reflect a more positive assessment for Thompson than is reflected by the Washington establishment, Ayres said: "We'll see if that's true. That's a testable proposition."

Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr. contributed to this report.