Fred Thompson, man of destiny (not)
A year from now, or even sooner, Americans who follow politics will wonder why anyone besides Fred Thompson (and I'm not sure about him) thought he was Presidential material.
Thompson seems to be sleepwalking through the first days of his campaign, offering warmed-over platitudes that suggest he hasn't learned his lines for this latest role. He couldn't even manage to come up with a convincing response on Terri Schiavo, whose right-to-die case galvanized President Bush and the religious right and nauseated most other Americans.
Another commentator has pointed out that we are trying to get off the mat after 7 years of the another man who had no apparent qualities to be President and proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Yes, Thompson was a U.S. Senator, he is a lawyer (and chief snitch to the Nixon White House during the Watergate investigation in 1973-4), but his main claim to fame is as a character actor on "Law and Order" and other TV shows and films. He did things in reverse of Ronald Reagan, becoming a politician and then becoming an actor. Unlike Ronald Reagan, I can't imagine anyone thinks Thompson is a great communicator.
The question is when Thompson will get bored with this role and drop out. My prediction is he doesn't even make it to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. But if he stays in that long, I suspect the voters, after 8 years of George W. Bush, will be the the toughest casting directors he ever faced.