Fred Thompson formally announced his candidacy for president this evening on Leno’s show. Perpetually pessimistic pundit John LeBoutillier has already hailed Thompson’s entrance into the race as a big yawn, saying it’s too little too late. But I’m not so sure.
Citing my own example only provides anecdotal evidence, but for my own part, the race has been a big yawn up to this point. Although I’m loosely considering them both, I’m deeply suspicious of Mitt Romney and Rudy Guiliani. I have sworn that I would never vote for McCain because of that stupid perniciously unconstitutional campaign finance law he co-sponsored. As Hillary’s latest fundraising scandal proves, McCain-Feingold is a textbook case of legislative impotence. It hasn’t solved one dadburned thing. Any man who thinks such a brazen assault on the First Amendment ought to be codified has ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS sitting in the Oval Office. Thankfully, his candidacy is more or less DOA at this point. Mike Huckabee, on the other hand, has some potential, but I don’t see him as being electable on a national scale. In all, I’m disenchanted with the entire field of Republican candidates.
Enter Fred tonight. I have a few qualms about the fact that he announced on Leno’s show (I think presidential politics and pop culture are a bad mix), but it may have been a brilliant tactic. He’s certainly differentiated himself from the rest of the field. He explained his rationale for getting into the race late, saying that 1) people traditionally have announced after Labor Day, and 2) nobody’s going to pass him over just because he got in later than everybody else. I, for one, am already sick of debates and campaigns (it’s much too early for all this) — so I found Thompson’s rationale and relaxed demeanor somewhat appealing. As a result, for the first time this election cycle, I visited a candidate’s Web site. I listened and I read a little. And I liked what I saw. If you check his Web site (www.fred08.com), it is apparent that Thompson is willing to teach about conservative ideals — something that a presidential candidate hasn’t done well (to my knowledge) since Reagan.
I’m not jumping on the Thompson bandwagon just yet, but I haven’t been as interested in any of the Republican candidates as I am in him. Stay tuned — The MonT-SteR may well become a Fred Head.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
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