LOS ANGELES, May 3 (UPI) -- Conservatives wonder if Fred D. Thompson will signal he is running for president in Friday's planned California speech.
Thompson, an actor, lawyer and former Republican senator from Tennessee, is to deliver a political speech in Orange County.
Thompson, 64, holds a strong position in the early polls, even though most voters know him only as a district attorney on television's "Law & Order," the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
Many conservatives favor Thompson because they are unhappy with the current Republican choices for president, the Times reported. Thompson, as a senator, posted a solid conservative voting record on abortion, gun control and other litmus-tests for conservatives.
Thompson announced last month that he is in remission from lymphoma, a type of blood cell cancer. He said the cancer was discovered 2 1/2 years ago and can be treated with drug therapy if it returns.
Despite his voting record, Thompson does not have a well-articulated ideology, the Times said. His most obvious qualifications may be that he looks the part of a president, which he will play in a forthcoming HBO movie.
"He comes straight out of central casting," said Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Ill. "First impressions matter in politics."
