Richard Tafoya
Apr 1st, 2007, 11:29 AM
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-thompson02apr02,0,6011108.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson today joined the crowded field of Republicans running for the White House in 2008 and proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the race.
Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during President Bush's first term, also said he is the only GOP candidate who has helped assemble both a state and federal budget.
Since announcing last year he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise money and gauge support, Thompson has lagged behind better-known rivals.
Thompson, 65, has focused his strategy on Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses for presidential nominees. He has made weekly visits to the state and sought to make the case that it will take a candidate who can carry the Midwest to win the nomination.
"Things are started to coalesce and I feel very, very optimistic about my future," Thompson said today, despite his single-digit polling.
"I am the reliable conservative. My record shows that. All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am one individual that they can count on," Thompson said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-thompson02apr02,0,6011108.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson today joined the crowded field of Republicans running for the White House in 2008 and proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the race.
Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during President Bush's first term, also said he is the only GOP candidate who has helped assemble both a state and federal budget.
Since announcing last year he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise money and gauge support, Thompson has lagged behind better-known rivals.
Thompson, 65, has focused his strategy on Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses for presidential nominees. He has made weekly visits to the state and sought to make the case that it will take a candidate who can carry the Midwest to win the nomination.
"Things are started to coalesce and I feel very, very optimistic about my future," Thompson said today, despite his single-digit polling.
"I am the reliable conservative. My record shows that. All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am one individual that they can count on," Thompson said.