Fred Thompson In Da House

Finally, this absurdly long mating dance is over and Fred Thompson is officially running for president. I'm still dubious he is the Great Right Hope that some people want, but at least we will get to find out now.

For Fredheads, the hard part begins now. He will no longer get away with platitudes and vague generalities. He will be asked hard questions about important policy issues from people who don't necessarily like him. He will have to be specific. Is he up to the job? I think we'll know pretty soon - probably within a month. Thompson is under the microscope, effective now. If he doesn't meet some very high expectations, his support could evaporate quickly.

From what we know so far, Thompson strikes me as a lot like George W. Bush, and I don't mean that as a compliment. The same can be said of all the GOP candidates, actually, with the exception of Ron Paul. He's the only one who has been willing to break with the president in any significant way. Nonetheless, I'm going to reserve judgment for a little while and give Thompson a chance to speak.

Here are my prior posts about Fred Thompson, in which I raise some important questions. I hope we get answers soon.

Finally, take a look at this campaign commercial that aired last night. Does the way he moves his head strike anyone else as kind of weird? I've seen Thompson in many interviews and not noticed him talk this way before. It almost looks like they speeded up the tape to make him appear more dynamic. I hate to nitpick about trivial things but he is an actor, after all. This doesn't seem like a very good performance for his big debut.