Hints, but no pledge from Thompson to join the race

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson offered a mix of conservative ideology, down-home charm and a call for bipartisan cooperation Friday night — but didn't announce he is running for president.

In his first major speech since he let it be known he is considering a late entry into a crowded field of White House hopefuls, Thompson gave every indication he plans to seek the Republican nomination. His dinner companion, columnist Robert Novak, said he is convinced Thompson will run.

"He's running," Novak said, quickly clarifying that Thompson had given the columnist no private hints over the dinner at Balboa Bay Club & Resort, where 400 members of the Lincoln Club of Orange County were having an annual dinner.

In the speech, Thompson sounded at times like a staunch conservative, calling for lower taxes, less government spending, a smaller bureaucracy, unrestricted trade and a tough attitude toward securing the country's border with Mexico against illegal immigrants.

"You wouldn't think you have to make the lower-tax case again. But you have to make it every day in Washington, D.C.," he said, accusing some in the capital of targeting the wealthy for tax increases. "My advice for anyone in the middle class — don't stand anywhere near the target."

Without ever mentioning President Bush, Thompson defended the current policy in Iraq. "If we leave Iraq before there is some semblance of stability that's brought about in that nation ... the world's going to be a more dangerous place," he said.

Some parts of the speech brought hearty applause from the conservative audience. But the crowd was silent during other moments, when Thompson seemed to stray from GOP orthodoxy in favor of a call for a new spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship.

He said the failure to do anything to solve Social Security was a "matter of lack of will" rather than ability. And he said America needs "reform-minded, change-minded" leaders who will seek a public mandate to work across party lines.

Thompson did not dwell on the Iraq war dispute consuming Washington, but he did argue for a foreign policy that does not shrink from the world.

"Even though we won't be going around in the woods trying to find any bears to kill, sometimes the bear visits you," he said. "Who is going to need to stand firm and stand strong and stand united if it's not the United States of America?"

That line received applause, as did one minutes later, when Thompson seemed to take a shot at some of the politicians seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

"You ever wonder why, when our politics are getting bigger, why so many of our politicians seem to be getting smaller?" he asked.