Inside accounts had largely confirmed it, and honestly, no one anywhere seemed much in doubt, but now that Fred Thompson has taken formal steps to enter the race, the GOP field is right to be worried.

The Times has a good above-the-fold article on the front page today about the entrance of Fred into the Republican primary. Though everyone (including even the ridiculous Ron Paul, the Dennis Kucinich of my party) attempted to channel the 40th president during the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, no one could quite assume the ghost. Fred can.

“Thompson is a credible conservative, he has a strong voting record, he has strong, almost Reagan-esque communication skills,” said Scott Reed, who managed the presidential campaign of the Republican Bob Dole in 1996 and is unaffiliated with any campaigns. “And like Reagan, he believes in an ideological agenda in an undiluted way. He doesn’t have a bunch of qualifiers on things when he defends the Reagan years.”

Fred Thompson is better in two distinct ways than everyone else in the Republican race. He is first a bona fide conservative candidate, and second, he is a most effective communicator. Predictably, the critics of Thompson ’s acting career are already sounding off - I take great comfort that such verbal darts bounced harmlessly off our last actor-turned-candidate. Besides, those who would cast stones on that basis are woefully ignorant of the heady career path Thompson was on prior to his acting and Senate careers, that he was instrumental in taking down both a corrupt American president and a pardon-auctioning Tennessee governor. In short, not only should the Republicans debating in New Hampshire this week be scared, but those wet dish rag Democrats oughtn’t be too thrilled, either. Just ask Jim Cooper whether he’d rather debate Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney.

UPDATE If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this piece by Frank Cagle in the Knoxville Metro Pulse on Fred.