ST. PAUL -- Former Tennessee senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson is getting a grand reception as he backs vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and bashes the media.

"What a breath of fresh air Gov. Sarah Palin is," Thompson said. "Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the union -- and won -- over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week."

Thompson's mentions of McCain as a "troublemaker" in high school and the number of demerits he received at the Naval Academy earned him some laughs as well. However, as Thompson details McCain's torture in the Hanoi Hilton, the arena has fallen absolutely silent.

"Now, being a POW doesn't qualify anyone to be president," Thompson said. "But it does reveal character."