Fred Thompson testing the waters Iowa

Fred Thompson was in Iowa - he walks like a Presidential Candidate, he looks like a candidate, all we are waiting for is to be pronounced a candidate.

Fred Thompson testing the waters Iowa Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson was at the Iowa State Fair on Friday, working the crowd like a candidate for President, even though no official word has declared him a runner. Thompson mingled with the Iowa State Fair folks, shook hands, saw the fair's biggest bull and made jokes about pork, but the hundreds waiting on a word from the former Law & Order actor that he will run for a President in 2008 went home disappointed.

The closest he ever got to announcing his candidacy for President was when Thompson told a few hundred supporters at the Fair's soapbox: "If things play out the way I've got in mind, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other, keep your powder dry."

During his visit in at the State Fair in Friday, Fred Thompson met Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who is yet to endorse a candidate. Both politicians spent some time strolling the fair and shaking hands with the people, but Thompson was quick to leave Des Moines without confirming or denying if he will run for President.

Criticism for a possible late entry in the race, meanwhile, is mounting. It's true that almost everyone knows Fred Thompson from his acting career on the NBC's Law & Order, but people do want to hear where a candidate stands on the major issues, and so far all we know is that Fred Thompson is pro-guns and pro-life. And with the Iowa caucus date closing on the GOP candidates, Thompson has little time to prepare, while the rest of the candidates are working their grassroots campaigns in every county of the state.

The oddsmakers, however, are by no means worried about Thomson's late entry. Fred Thompson still has the whopping odds of 2/1 to be chosen as the Republican Candidate for the 2008 US Presidential Election, as posted by the online bookmaker Bodog Sports. The only Republican doing better than Fred Thompson is Rudy Giuliani, listed at 11/10. With odds like these, a "Giuliani-Thompson" presidential duo would bring plenty of grief to the opposing Democratic couple.

Here are the top four candidates by odds on the 2008 Presidential Elections:

Hillary Clinton - 2/1

Barack Obama - 9/2

Rudy Giuliani - 5/1

Fred Thompson - 6/1

These odds reflect quite accurate the public opinion and a race between " Clinton-Obama" and "Giuliani-Thompson" seems quite probable, if the two Democrats are able to work out their differences.

Published on 08/18/2007