Social conservatives are threatening to walk if Rudy, who's pro-abortion, gets the nod and there are more than a few Christians who seem leery of Mitt Romney. Then there's McCain, whom many grassroots conservatives can't stand and Mike Huckabee, a nannystater who will turn off conservatives who care deeply about small government.

Fred Thompson may be the only top tier candidate who can keep the party's base from fracturing in 2008. He is pro-life, has an outstanding voting record on abortion, and he has prominent social conservatives like Gary Bauer supporting him. Furthermore, he seems to be the most popular candidate amongst the party's grassroots and he has a strong record on fiscal issues and federalism, which will appeal to the wing of the GOP with more Libertarian tendencies. It's also worth noting that Fred comes across as a very reasonable man, who eschews the sort of harsh rhetoric and extreme positions that turn off some of the more moderate members of the GOP.

In 2008, the GOP is going to need to get strong support from all the traditional parts of the GOP base if we're going to have a chance to win and Fred is capable of making it happen.

When Fred Thompson was in the Senate, he had a mixed record on illegal immigration issues -- not all good, not all bad. NumbersUSA gave this brief summary of Thompson's career: "Leans toward less immigration, less population growth, less foreign labor."

But, in all fairness to Thompson, illegal immigration wasn't exactly viewed as a hot issue or as being extremely important to conservatives back then. Perhaps more importantly, all the other candidates in the top tier, plus Huckabee, have extremely troubling records on illegal immigration issues, which make it very difficult to trust anything they say about securing the border or amnesty.

On the other hand, even though Fred Thompson doesn't have the credibility of a Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter on the illegal immigration issue, people can believe him when he says he will build the fence, secure the border, insist on a security-first policy, and go after sanctuary cities.

Remember when elected Republicans -- like say, Ronald Reagan -- used to regularly talk about taking power away from the federal government and giving it back to the states? Well, Fred Thompson is that kind of Republican and in these days of creeping socialism and ever-expanding government power, it would be fantastic to have a President who actually says to himself before he signs a law, "Is this something government should be doing? If so, at what level of government?"

Now anybody can talk the talk about federalism, but Thompson has shown that he walks the walk, too. Thompson has bragged that he has come up on the "short end of a couple of 99-1 votes" because he stuck to Federalist principles. His stance on gay marriage, which is support of a constitutional amendment that would prevent judges from legalizing gay marriage, but allows state legislatures to do so if they choose -- shows that he's anti-gay marriage, but unwilling to compromise his Federalist principles, even when it would be politically convenient to do so.

One of the biggest complaints conservatives have had about the Bush Administration is that it hasn't made a serious effort to cut spending. Given his past record, that would seem unlikely to be a problem for Fred Thompson. The gold standard on fiscal issues, The Club for Growth, examined Fred's voting record in the Senate and gave him a review that will make conservative heads turn. Here's a summary of what the CFG had to say about Thompson:

"Fred Thompson's eight-year record is generally pro-growth with an excellent record on entitlement reform and school choice and a very good record on taxes, regulation, and trade...His belief in a limited federal government is demonstrated by his numerous votes against government intrusion in the private sector and increased federal spending. His fondness for Tennessee pork aside, Thompson consistently voted against increased spending and new government projects, at times, one of only a handful of senators to do so."

At a time when the Democratic Party controls Congress and has yet to run across a domestic program that they wouldn't be thrilled to expand by a few billion dollars, wouldn't it be great to have someone like Fred Thompson sitting in the White House, deftly wielding a veto pen?

Conclusion

If, like most conservatives, you're looking for a candidate who shares many of the same values as the Gipper, Fred Thompson is definitely the top tier candidate who best fits that description. Does that mean Fred Thompson is perfect? Far from it, but he is a few steps to the right of George W. Bush and it does seem likely that conservatives would genuinely be happy with a Thompson presidency. Imagine that -- a top tier GOP candidate who could motivate conservatives to vote for him because they would want him in office, as opposed to trying to convince them to trudge to the polls just because they don't want to see President Hillary Rodham Clinton.