The big news this morning on the ‘08 presidential race is that Fred Thompson has decided to officially jump in to the race. Thompson is in the process of forming a presidential committee and beginning a fundraising effort. His advisers say that he will make a formal announcement during the 4th of July weekend.

Thompson, who has been fueling speculation of a Republican presidential bid by traveling the country and making speeches, urged a group of donors in a conference call Tuesday to begin raising $46,000 from 10 couples each, starting on June 4, according to two participants in the call. Once the money begins flowing, Thompson will begin to hire a campaign staff and set up his headquarters in Washington and Nashville, his advisers said.

In addition, the nascent campaign is planning to launch a website in the next 10 days, according to one person familiar with campaign planning. Thompson will give a speech in Virginia this weekend and is scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno next month.

Mike Allen at Politico reports that Thompson advisers have said that Thompson “has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations.”

Melissa at Shakesville, rounds out the Thompson announcement and the Republican candidate pool saying, “Freddy 4 Prez is fantastic news, because, in spite of his genuine(ly heinous) conservative credentials, he’s still less scary than,” the rest of the pack…

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