** FILE ** Former Sen. Fred Thompson, of Tennessee, introduces the cast of "Mister Sterling" to the media during NBC's Winter Press Tour in Los Angeles in this Jan 17, 2003 file photo. Thompson once said it was hard for him to envision running again for elective office. Now he is a TV star who is finding himself on the cusp of a presidential bid, an all-but declared candidate seemingly recruited into the wide-open race by GOP activists hungry for someone to fill what they call a conservative void in the current crop of top-tier hopefuls. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)