Conservatives Really Have A Hardon About Reagan

So, Fred Thompson's announced that he going to announce that he's going to announce, some time in the very near future, any day now, that he'll be running for President. Which, you know, means he's announced he's running for President but hasn't had a big speech and photo op about it yet.

Anyway, I've avoided saying much about the various and sundry presidential candidates yet for the simple fact that we're not even to primary season yet and I don't really have a firm opinion on any of them. I'm waiting and watching to see if there's anything to like or dislike. And it's way too early to start really caring about this stuff, for me anyway.

Still, I think Thompson's candidacy deserves some attention from me because, as I see it, Thompson seems to be the right's latest attempt to dredge up the corpse of Ronald Reagan. Like most of their other initiatives these days, he's nothing but a pale shadow of the past. His credentials, again as I see it, include little more than an unmemorable stint as Senator during the “Contract on America” days, being the gruff DA on Law and Order, and a laundry list of out of the box, Southern conservative stands on issues. In other words, he's about as generic a Republican as you can get. And, one would hope, not nearly qualified or connected enough to become the leader of the free world during peace time let alone when the nation is, as our president is so fond of saying, facing its gravest threat (Which, you know, is horseshit but that's what the dead end 28 percenters are supposed to believe. At least until Dear Leader tells them differently, I guess.). Except, of course, he's been on television. So people know him. Or at least the character he played which is close enough for most. He's going to be a “formidable candidate” in the general election because he's got the name recognition.

When, exactly, did being famous get to be part of the qualification for the presidency? It's not just the Republican side, after all, as far as I can tell the biggest thing both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have going for them is that their famous and look/sound good on television, respectively. The days of finding serious, experienced, and practiced leaders – like, say, Mr. Richardson - to become the president seem to be a thing of the past. Instead it's about finding the empty suit that's going to look best in front of the camera. The guy everyone would want to have a beer with. The one who's electable.

The next election is going to be one of the most important ones in my life, as far as I can tell. It's going to determine whether we can finally, really change our course or whether we'll be stuck heading down the same path we've been on. It seems a shame to me that having a good Q rating is going to be a decisive factor.