bad reviews, fred

Poor Fred Thompson - he just gets started as a genu-wine official Republican candidate for President and already the bad reviews are pouring in. George Will calls his entry into the race more of a belly-flop than a dive, noting Thompson's complete inability to say anything about the position of his GOP opponents' positions - or even his OWN. Will compares Thompson's candidacy to the introduction of New Coke back in 1985 - and wonders if Fred will last even the 80 days that New Coke did.

Will doesn't say it, but this raises another question about Thompson - whether he has what it takes for the "hard job" (as Bush might say) of being President. We're stuck with a President with a questionable work ethic already. Do we want one who is too lazy to even study his lines before going onto TV and radio? A guy who shirked his duties during his one term in the Senate? Hey, at least Romney and Giuliani and McCain seem to know what their positions are, whether you like them or not.

Meanwhile, Robert Novak, who just a few months ago thought Thompson was the Great GOP Hope for 2008, seems to have changed his mind. Novak notes the turmoil in Thompson's nascent campaign, his failure to make an impressive entry into the race despite months to prepare (and ground well prepared for him by friendly conservative media types like Novak), and the lack of anything resembling a policy. Novak notes the weakness of the rest of the Republican field, but now wonders whether Thompson can actually fill the void he sees.