October 10, 2007 -- "FRED Thompson had a senior moment at an unfortunate moment - during the very first words he spoke as a presidential debater.
Only a minute or so into his opening answer of yesterday's Republican debate - Thompson's first debate since formally entering the race in September - he just stopped speaking.
Froze. Blinked in confusion. Seemed to have lost his train of thought.
It was a discomfiting pause.
And if it had come during prime time during a general-election season, it would have spelled the end of Thompson's candidacy and ensured a Democratic landslide.
Fortunately for Thompson, it took place a little after 4 p.m. Eastern time on a Tuesday afternoon on a cable channel.
And Thompson did get considerably better as the two-hour debate went along.
But these debates are mostly about the impressions they offer of the candidates, and the impression Thompson offered was: He's old.
This has nothing to do with his age.
John McCain is six years older than Thompson but with the renewed enthusiasm he's been showing lately, he looked and sounded five years younger.
And Rudy Giuliani is only two years younger than Thompson, but in offering yet another punchy performance, he seemed as though he were a member of a different, younger generation.
Thompson's chief problem - the problem that reinforces the impression not that he's full of enthusiasm at the prospect of leading the country but more that he's ready for the Earlybird Special - is the world-weary mien he wears as he talks about the problems and difficulties facing the United States.
He's not the crabby grandfather of the Ross Perot type who harangues you with one of those "in my day we worked for a living" speeches. That role is increasingly being filled by Ron Paul, the anti-war libertarian.
Thompson is more like the impressive and kindly elderly gentleman who's just seen too much in his life to get all fired up, but when asked he will allow that things are going to hell in a handbasket and there's not much we can do about it.
His lack of energy was mirrored in the debate as a whole, which was pretty boring save for the first substantive face-to-face dispute during this presidential campaign - when Giuliani and Mitt Romney went at each other on their respective records as mayor of New York and governor of Massachusetts.
Once again, Giuliani was the straw that stirred the drink in this debate.
And he helped close out the two hours with an amused and amusing parry to Maria Bartiromo's suggestion that London might replace New York as the world's financial capital.
"No way, no how," he said. "Aw, come on!"
Sorry, Fred-Fans, but he's a goner.
Virtually every Conservative media pundit of note is saying the same thing about Senator Thompson, and its only going to get worse.
Not that they can help themselves, mind you. Every one of them is media-savvy and the fight to become THE Republican pundit is ongoing and bloodthirsty. So when a guy like Fred comes along they watch aghast as he shambles the preambles and holds back on delivering the goods. No catchy punchlines, no fancy footwork, and sad to say even the Ma and Pa Kettle's are accustomed to a song and dance with a little seltzer down the pants.
Mary Matalin is a senior Thompson adviser. Couple weeks back she was visiting the Laura Ingraham book commercial disguised as a talk show and it was all Laura could do to keep from screaming while pummeling Ms Matalin with questions asking where the Tippecanoe & Tyler Too version of the Thompson campaign was.
No jingles? Then no-dice.
I understand that each and every pundit worth his or her salt simply MUST come across as all-knowing...they DO happen to listen to Limbaugh and believe self-professed omniscience to be the path to success...so but of course they are happy to offer free advice even though no one is asking, but an awful lot of Conservatives take their cues from the likes of Laura and after listening to what she had to say about Fred I cannot see him gaining much real-world support. We bloggers might be a trifle more discerning, for the most part, and enjoy digging deep into a candidates psyche but far too many voters are net-less so we haven't reached the point of being king makers.
Like it or not, unless a major stumble occurs its Rudy by a length.
Nope, it isn't fair. But when you've a limited amount of money to spend...Fred isn't a Clinton after all and cares from whence HIS contributions come from...you have to do an awful lot with an awful little and so far there isn't a hint that he or his people want to crank up their bang for the buck. Now as far as Fred still stuck in spring training when his opponents are in mid-season form, well that'll change as he gets his timing back.
But by then the crowd may have already gone home.
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