Wow. Surprise, surprise Republican Fred Thompson has dropped out of the presidential race after only four months. Or wait... was this any surprise? Well, it's certainly a slap in the face to the many pundits who thought the Tennessee stud was the second coming for the GOP ticket.
In the end, Thompson ran a lazy campaign and no one could have predicted that. But if you look at the rumors swirling around the man there was no need for him to put vigor into his candidacy. Thompson was practically likened to a bull moose in heat. Apparently Viagra had been modeled on his DNA and the "smoke" fuming from Thompson's ears was the cause of global warming. Fred didn't do much to distill this reputation either. He once professed to a group of republicans, "I was single for a long time. I got chased by a lot of women, and usually I got caught." Wow, this man was going to put the Rrrrrr back into Republican!
As the rumor mill goes, so does the punditry. They did a good job of promoting Thompson's chances for the presidency by reinforcing this macho man mantra.
Check out some of the choice quotes preceding Thompson's entrance into the race.
Chris Matthews: "Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of -- a little bit of cigar smoke? You know, whatever."
Whit Ayres On ABC's Good Morning America: "Senator Thompson's campaign has enormous potential."
Liz Sidoti, Associated Press: "Thompson brings to the eight-man GOP field a right-leaning Senate voting record with a few digressions from GOP orthodoxy and a healthy dose of Hollywood star power. He is hoping to attract conservatives who are lukewarm about the current crop of candidates."
John Harris on CBS's The Early Show: "... he would be the only mainstream conservative from the South in the race. That clearly gives him a window."
The punditry should have dug their nails into the Thompson's past a bit more for a deeper character analysis. The stud said it best himself in his high school yearbook when he scrawled the sign off: "The lazier a man seems, the more he plans to do tomorrow."
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I frankly found the fact the Republican party thought him a worthy candidate was an insult to the American people. But then again, Bush won twice, which makes me aware of just how many stupid people live in this country and vote. Amazing.
They then nominated a failed executive, reformed alcoholic, born again Christian moron and won the election.
Why shouldn't they nominate Fred Thompson?
It worked before. The voters just realized that when they were electing these duds, they were getting the failed Policies of the Republican Party that only benefit the rich and not them. I just hope enough people realize this and don't put a Bush Clone in office.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174883/jay_rosen_mindlessness_in_the_media_campaign_2008
Rosen makes some astute observations about the mindlessness of election media coverage.
Now he can go back to his TV show, where he pretended to be a competent leader.
This is a big deal for you liberals. Someone please explain why Edwards keeps hanging around when its clear democratic voters reject him. Why hasn't the MSM demanded he throw in the towel? I think he has a hard time accepting the fact that people simply don't like him. Even John F-ing Kerry wouldn't endorse him.
How so? They have no shame, so they can't be embarrassed. No matter how many times they are wrong, they are still called "experts". Even when they say things, that would make Goebbels blush, they get a slap on the wrist. That's the MSM's version of capital punishment.