Thompson Wants In But Doesn't Want to Mess Up May Sweeps

Bob Novak says that Fred Thompson wants to get in the presidential race, but will likely wait until June to announce so he doesn't mess up May sweeps for his show "Law and Order":

Although revelation of his cancer history has cleared the decks for Fred Thompson to run for the Republican presidential nomination, his commitments as a television and radio performer may delay his announcement until June.

As an actor on NBC's "Law and Order," Thompson can scarcely abandon the show during the May ratings sweeps and has taped programs that will be aired then. He also has commitments to ABC as a stand-in for radio commentator Paul Harvey.

There was no reason for Thompson to make the cancer revelation if he did not plan to run for president, and this indicates he intends to join the race. However, prominent Republicans are delaying an endorsement until he actually announces his candidacy.

If Thompson were to announce now, any shows in which he appears on network TV could be subject to equal time rules for all the other candidates. NBC would be faced with a lot of editing or making available a lot of free air time. Neither would make the NBC brass very happy.

At this point Thompson can probably afford to be loyal to his employer and wait a little longer. The buzz around him isn't going away and seems to get stronger with each TV interview or published article.