Fred Thompson for Dummies

And by Dummies, I mean myself. With growing speculation on his possible run, I have to ask, is this good for us and what will the impact be? Sorry for the short diary but some answers would be appreciated. Follow me below the fold

1. So I'm not clear, would Fred by running as a Republican or as an independent?

2. I'm assuming if he went Repub that some sore loser regulation would keep him from running as an independent afterwards

3. If he did go Republican, would he then split the difference between himself and the heir apparent, perhaps flipping it to someone else, McCain or Rudy?

4. Would his independent run have a Perot effect?

5. Would his Republican run prompt someone like Bloomberg, and maybe even good buddy Joe, to do a middle of the road independent ticket?

6. How would dead-head Fred fair against Hillary. I'm hoping then even the "I'll never vote for Hillary ever" crowd would understand the terrible perils of sitting at home

7. Is Thompson a good enough actor to harness the Reagan myth thingie, enough to even get some centrists on his side?

8. Is this really an audition for vice pres? Imagine Rudy gets the nod and picks Thomson as his VP. That sounds like a scary combination.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated.