Fred Thompson Remembered by his Friends in The Tennessee Valley

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF-TV) – Fred Thompson could have been president!
That was the opinion of some of those who knew the "lawyer-senator-actor" who died over the weekend.
Fred Thompson was no stranger in this part of his native state, and there are some classic stories being told about the various stages of his life.

FRED THOMPSON "I’m running for President". (applause and cheers)

Fred Thompson made it official on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in 2007, and most polls already had him 2nd or 3rd in the polls. Thompson left his acting career to make that run for the nation’s top job, but he gave it up a few months later.

CLAUDE RAMSEY, FORMER HAMILTON CO. MAYOR "It surprises me he didn’t stay in the race and longer than he did…I think he didn’t really have his heart in it. He had gotten involved in some other things …And running for president is a long hard process.And I.. would like to have seen it..I think he’d have made a good president."

Claude Ramsey, who went on to become deputy governor of Tennessee under Bill Haslam, has nothing but praise for his friend Fred Thompson who was also a fine actor.

CLAUDE RAMSEY "He made a lot of money doing it….you didn’t have any trouble understanding him, you know ….the roles he played..he was just as straight forward as he was in real life."

State Senator "Bo" Watson of Hixson remembers the time Thompson testified before a senate committee a few years ago. He says the rooms and hall ways were packed..a Hollywood celebrity was coming into the legislature.

SEN. "BO" WATSON, (R) HIXSON "Senator Thompson, just by his voice..his mere presence ..he sucked the oxygen out of any room he entered."

Thompson was a two-term Tennessee senator but also a major actor on T-V and in the movies. Its said he brought charisma where ever he went.

Juvenile court clerk Gary Behler says he treated everyone with great respect.

GARY BEHLER, JUVENILE COURT CLERK "I still have my Fred Thompson bumper sticker when he was running for president. I had signed on earlier to support him ..Wish he had followed through with that."

MAYOR TOM ROWLAND, CLEVELAND "When Fred walked into a room you knew he was there..there’s no intimidation. The fact that you knew things were going to be right."

Fred Thompson was always welcome here–and he’ll be missed.