TENN. SENATOR SMELLS THE ROSES

Daughter's Death May Be A Factor In Not Running

NASHVILLE (AP) -- Sen. Fred Thompson said Saturday he never intended to
make politics his last career and believes now is the time to move on to
whatever comes next.

"As you go along in life, some things become more important, some of it in
the category of smelling the roses," he said at a Nashville news conference
a day after announcing he would not seek re-election this fall. "We weren't
meant to do one thing all our lives."

Potential replacements began lining up Saturday with Republican Rep. Ed
Bryant's announcement that he would seek the office. Four other Tennessee
congressman also weighed possible runs --- Republican Zach Wamp and
Democrats Harold Ford Jr., Bart Gordon and Bob Clement.

Former National Transportation Safety Board chairman Jim Hall, a Democrat
who served six years during the Clinton Administration, also is considering
the race.

Republican former governor and U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander
planned a news conference Monday, but did not say what he would announce.

Thompson said he had several reasons for leaving, adding, "Most of it is
very personal and I don't choose to get into any details of that."

The senator's daughter, 38-year-old Elizabeth Thompson Panici, died in
January. Friends have said her death weighed heavily in his decision, but
he was ambivalent even before that. He considered getting out of the race
last fall, but changed his mind after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Tennessean in Nashville reported Saturday that Panici's death was the
result of an accidental drug overdose. The newspaper report cited a medical
examiner's report and toxicology tests showing six times the lethal level
of the painkiller hydrocodone in her blood when she arrived at the hospital
emergency room. She died six days later, on Jan. 30, never having regained
consciousness.

On the day of her death, the senator's office reported that Panici died of
a "severe brain injury resulting from cardiac arrest." Thompson's press
secretary Harvey Valentine said Panici had been sick, but he declined to
elaborate.

Thompson on Saturday said the newspaper report was "unfortunate."

"Every public official has to understand there's a price you pay, and for
the most part it's appropriate. . . . But there are lines to be drawn," he
said. "The news media have a responsibility, too. There's no reason to
drudge up things that can only be harmful."

Thompson said he would not get involved in the Republican primary, but
would work for the GOP candidate in the general election.

Despite Democrats' narrow 50-49 majority in the Senate, Thompson said he
was not pressured by anyone in the Bush administration or the Senate
leadership to stay on as the GOP tries to regain the majority.

"They probably figure I'm too bullheaded to change my mind," he said. "I
brought it up to the president and [Senate GOP leader] Trent Lott, and they
were very understanding. It was just what you would want."