Thompson begins scramble for Republican nomination

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, Sept 7 (Reuters) Actor-politician Fred Thompson began an autumn scramble for the Republican presidential nomination yesterday, pushing Ronald Reagan-like conservative themes and shrugging off concerns that he had entered the race too late.

Thompson, 65, hoped to offer a fresh face in an already crowded Republican field that has failed to energise many party faithful. But some believe he was entering the November 2008 race too late -- months after other challengers -- and faces formidable challenges.

"I like the idea of a sprint," Thompson said in an interview with Fox News Channel. "I'm right where I want to be, to tell you the truth." The former Tennessee senator began his campaign rolling through the Iowa cornfields in a bus emblazoned with his picture -- a face millions of Americans know as that of Arthur Branch, the gruff prosecutor on NBC's "Law and Order." A crowd gathered around his bus in Council Bluffs and Thompson told them he wanted to generate national unity against the scourge of Islamic extremists in Iraq and elsewhere, who he said "threaten everything we hold dear." "We have to demonstrate to friends and foes alike that we are determined and united as the American people to do whatever is necessary to prevail, not only in Iraq but in the broader global war," he said.

Accompanied by his wife, Jeri, and two small children, he is on the first leg of a five-day swing through the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Trying to catch rival candidates who have been canvassing for months, Thompson got off to a leisurely start, with his first campaign event in mid-afternoon and a second in Council Bluffs in the evening.

SIX MONTHS OF TESTING WATERS After "testing the waters" for six months and twice shaking up his staff, the tall, folksy Thompson now faces an abbreviated time frame to try to increase his name recognition, raise money and overcome his Republican rivals by the time the first voters go to the polls in January.

The Thompson team said his Web site had generated 300,000 dollar in contributions in the hours since he launched his campaign and registered more than 13,000 "Friends of Fred." Campaign manager Bill Lacy said Thompson's entry, rather than harming individual Republican rivals like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, "very clearly complicates matters for the whole field." "Our bottom line is the race is wide open," he said.

Thompson's speech and Web video announcing his candidacy had many elements that had been the gospel of the hero of Republican conservatives, former president Reagan, like low taxes and less government intervention.

But some analysts do not believe Thompson will be able to wear Reagan's mantle.

Presidential scholar Stephen Hess of George Washington University said Reagan offered a far more optimistic presence than Thompson and that "the only thing they have in common is they were both actors, frankly." Rich Galen, a senior Thompson adviser, rejected any comparison. "He has consistently said there was only one Ronald Reagan and that he's not it," Galen said.

Some voters in Des Moines said they did not mind Thompson's late entry and thought the 2008 race had started too soon.

But one was concerned Thompson had waited too long.

"I'm afraid that's a possibility," said John Malett, 70, a retired school teacher. "I would have liked to have seen him enter a little earlier, but it's not insurmountable." REUTERS PBB KP0752