Thompson's First 2 Months in Race Mixed

Republican Presidential hopeful, former Tennessee Sen., Fred Thompson speaks at a Politics and Eggs breakfast meeting with area business leaders in Bedford, N.H., Monday, Nov. 5, 2007.(AP Photo/Jim Cole) (Jim Cole - AP)

On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, he said that "life begins at conception" but that he doesn't support a federal constitutional amendment banning abortion.

That prompted GOP underdog Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, to claim: "Thompson's philosophy seems to be more 'cut and run' when it comes to these issues, rather than stand and lead."

Thompson told Fox News Channel on Monday: "Huckabee talks about this I suppose because it is the only conservative position he's got." He then criticized his rival for being "very weak on immigration policy" and being "one of the highest taxing governors that we had in this country."

In New Hampshire for only the third time in two months, Thompson began the day telling about 100 people in Bedford that "our country is at a crossroads." He emphasized a strong defense, saying: "We have yet to come to terms yet fully as a nation that we are in a global conflict that will not be resolved when the Iraq war is resolved." He argued for secure borders.

Curiosity brought Kelly McGill, 35, an independent voter from Alexandria, N.H.: "I'm learning about him. That's exactly why I'm here today _ because I don't know a lot."

Later, in Rochester, N.H., Thompson toured a manufacturer of hunting rifles, Thompson Center Arms, a Smith and Wesson Co. that McCain had visited recently, and then delivered his pitch to some 350 workers.

He elicited supportive hoots and hollers when he said: "I've been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment."

A consultant at the company, Roland Cox, 56, liked what he heard. "I was going to look into him, and now I'm sure I'm going to look into him," the independent voter said.

Thompson returns on Tuesday to South Carolina, a must-win state for the Tennessean. Although he's bunched at the top of polls there, interviews with voters over the weekend show he has work to do.

"I don't know much about the man. He was a TV star and all that, and I'm sure he's a decent man. But I've not heard him talk here. He hasn't looked me in the eyes," said Jim Clark, 64, a retired insurance agent and Vietnam veteran in Irmo, S.C.

Upstate in Simpsonville, Jim Schroder, 42, a project manager, said he had all but ruled out Thompson. "I don't know enough about him. I know he was an actor on TV and a senator. There was a lot of hype on him. But the question is does he want it enough?"