Sunday, December 30, 2007

Thompson: 'Not particularly interested in running'

Hmm...I rather like his attitude:

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) -- Fred Thompson acknowledged Saturday he's not especially fond of running for president, but he thinks he'd be a good choice for the White House.

Asked at a town hall meeting in Burlington whether he had the desire to be president, Thompson said it wasn't his idea to seek the office, and he wasn't enamored with campaigning.

"I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it," he said. "I'm not particularly interested in running for president."

I've always found people like Bill Clinton, who seems like he has been running for president since he was 12, a little off putting. The presidency should be a weight you carry, not something to which you aspire. It's about sacrificing for your country, not appetite for position.

"Nowadays, it's all about fire in the belly. I'm not sure in the world we live in today it's a terribly good thing that a president has too much fire in his belly," he said.

Thompson said that unlike his opponents, he's honest about why he's running.

"I like to say that I'm only consumed by very, very few things and politics is not one of them. The welfare of my country and my kids and grandkids are one of them," he said. "But if people really want in their president a super type-A personality, someone who has gotten up every morning and gone to bed every night thinking about for years how they could achieve presidency of the United States, someone who could look you straight in the eye and say they enjoy every minute of campaigning -- I ain't that guy."

He seems like he has the concept of "public service", which is what the presidency is all about, pretty well down pat.

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