FLASHREPORT

Skeptics of a Fred Thompson presidential bid say he would face a daunting task of having to raise $1.5 million a week in order to build a $50 million campaign kitty by the end of the year. Some believe that with so many key GOP fundraisers already locked up, it's unlikely Mr. Thompson would have the table stakes to get into the presidential game.

But Mr. Thompson has some free media cards to play so long as he is a non-candidate. On May 4, he will travel to Orange County, California to speak at the prestigious Lincoln Club, the political dinner group that has traditionally hosted GOP presidential candidates in what is often called "Reagan Country." That same night, Mr. Thompson will join Jay Leno on his "Tonight Show" set for an interview that no doubt will touch on his presidential prospects.

But the ultimate in free media exposure will come later in May when HBO Films will offer repeat showings of a new movie, "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," based on the classic Dee Brown book depicting the 1890 massacre of Indians in South Dakota. The film features a prologue that depicts happier times in the 1870s when federal Indian policy was more enlightened. Key scenes take place in the Oval Office of President U.S. Grant, played by none other than Fred Thompson, on loan from his role as a prosecutor on NBC's "Law & Order."

Hollywood is already buzzing about the coincidence of having a possible presidential candidate playing a president in a sympathetic role on TV screens. "It is just another example of how unfair life is to non-celebrity candidates," one Hollywood source told me. "Arnold Schwarzenegger used free media to the hilt in his 2003 race for governor of California and look how far he got. Fred Thompson is clearly playing all the cards he has to keep his name before the public while he makes up his mind."