Presidential Candidate Tommy Thompson

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson made it official this morning at Messmer High School in Milwaukee. He'll be a candidate for the the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. For a campaign kick off, it was a nice little event. Messmer seemed to be brimming with pride, and Thompson gave a solid speech. His campaign website does not have the text up yet, and if it does not go online, I'll transcribe it later from a copy that I have.

I expect Iowa and perhaps New Hampshire will begin to wonder if Thompson is their former Governor by next February because they are going to see a lot of him. Additionally, his slogan, "The Reliable Conservative," came up again in his speech today, and it is going to be interesting to see how well his campaign brands him with that slogan. I think a few of his ideas are going to be on the edge of conservatism at best.

I'll hopefully have some more observations up later in the day, either here or at Jiblog, or possibly both. I know there was at least one other blogger at Thompson's announcement today, but I'm not sure if that individual was "officially" there. So bounce around the Wisconsin blogs this afternoon. You might find some first hand observations before I can get my more in depth thoughts online.

Oh, and I should make note of a long standing policy here at the BBA. This blog does not officially endorse any candidates in the primaries, and that policy will not change with Thompson's announcement. Individual members may support given candidates here at the site, though. Given that, because Wisconsin is Thompson's home field, you may see more coverage of his campaign here than at some other blogs around the country.

Update
That other blogger was Sean Hackbarth, and he does indeed have a report up on Thompson's announcement.

Update 2
Here's the text of the speech.