Fred Thompson just held a brief media availablity front of Grand Hotel.

Will he compete for Michigan?

Absolutely. I noticed where I’m doing pretty good (see below), and this is my first trip in. So hopefully, with more trips, I’ll do better.

On how to fix Michigan’s economic problems:

I think that we need to look at the unemployment problem nationwide, first of all, make sure that we’re doing sound things that will benefit everyone, including Michigan. We have a good unemployment situation relatively speaking, historically speeaking, nationwide, but there are pockets where there are problems, and of course Michigan is a classic case of that, and the auto industry, of course, is a big part of that…
Other than that, just sound economic policy — low taxes, less regulation, hopefully get a break on energy costs eventually. Things like that are going to do more for the economy than anything else.

What sets him apart?

I don’t compare myself at this stage of the game with any of my friends in the primary. There will be time enough for that. A lot of us probably agree on the same basic principles. My deal is the relationship with the American people, and the relationship with the primary voters. It all depends on that. If they feel like I’m the person to lead us into the challenges we’re going to be facing…then things are going to work out well for me. It doesn’t matter what my opponents do…It’s not about me and them right now — I’m not going to start cutting them down.

Nice and vague — perfect for a five-minute presser. We’ll see how he does tonight.

I don’t want this to color my analysis too much, but I hope the Thompson people figure out the concept of “advance work” before their next event. All of the cameramen and reporters were standing outside in a huge bunch, and once he got in there, it was very hard to hear anything at all. I was wrestling with a few TV cameramen for real estate. If they’d just had someone there to tell us where to stand, it would have been a lot easier. The only reason I got to hear anything was that Jonathan Martin of Politico was quite the good sport. He’d made his way into the middle of the crowd, and he grabbed digital recorders from reporters who were trying to extend their arms into the scrum.

Anyway, Fred comes with much buzz — here’s a release that just came from his campaign on his encouraging early polls:

In Michigan, Fred Thompson is in a virtual tie for the lead at 18%, according to a new poll conducted by Mitchell Interactive and published in today’s Detroit News. Thompson is within the Poll’s 5 point margin of error, with Romney at 21% and Giuliani at 19%.
In South Carolina, Fred Thompson now leads Rudy Giuliani, his closest rival, 26% to 23%, according to a new Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg Poll released on Wednesday, September 12, 2007.In Florida, a Mason-Dixon Poll and an Insider Advantage Poll — both conducted this week — show Fred Thompson at 23%, virtually tied for the lead with Rudy Giuliani at 24% and within the margin of error.

So the demand for Thompson continues to hold firm, even to increase in some places. He’s going to have to match it with supply if he wants to keep up such a high level of support.