It took me long enough, but I’ve decided to vote for Fred Thompson in the Republican primary. His tax plan put the capstone on a bundle of policies that are soundly conservative, full of common sense, and moderate enough that they should be highly implementable. My impression of him personally is that he is a laid-back guy who will do what he must to keep his policy goals on track, and that’s a little more attractive to me at this point than a fiery go-getter who may be noticeably fiery on issues I’d prefer he stepped back on.

The reason it took me so long to decide is because I’m more in Quin Hillyer’s camp than Karol’s–the thought of a McCain presidency does not scare me. If I have to put up with some nonsense on illegal immigration and political speech for a hard-headed view of our military efforts and national security, I can. The thought of a Giuliani presidency does not scare me. If I have to put up with some personal pro-choice views and some gun nonsense for good judiciary appointments and a clear-eyed view of the war on terrorism, I can do that too. The thought of a Romney presidency does not scare me … much. I haven’t taken the time to find out enough about him. But unlike Dr. Dobson, I see which way the wind is blowing and I will not take any action that contributes to the country’s jeopardy of socialist health care, the continuance of abortion as an enshrined constitutional right, or ignominious cut-and-run.

All that said, Fred Thompson seems to combine the best of attributes and policies–approachable but not malleable, sensible but not overly stubborn, not so concerned about getting ahead that compromise becomes the order of the day. There are only a couple things I’ve heard him say so far that I didn’t like, and hey, he makes Allah noticeably grumpled. “Too late, too late” has been the media cry. He certainly hasn’t been too late for those of us who keep ourselves informed via the web. Ultimately it remains to be seen how he’s played to the TV, newspaper, and live-appearance crowd. A friend who’s spent time in Washington commented to me that his impression of Fred is of somebody who can govern, but not campaign–that he just doesn’t have a taste for it. To me that’s a personal asset, but unfortunately the lack of visibility that goes along with it may hurt him with the general run of primary voters. Run, Fred, run for all you’re worth. You’ve got my vote.