Fred Thompson is too cowardly to be President

Alright, I have nothing against Fred Thompson personally... well, maybe there are a few little things about him that I find irksome. For instance, his lobbying efforts to deregulate the savings and loan industry which resulted in the S&L crisis in the 80's. Then there was the lobbying on behalf of big business to make sure they didn't have to pay big money to those afflicted with health problems due to asbestos exposure. And of course he appears to be drinking the neocon koolaid in huge gulps, making him in essense yet another Bushie. All that aside, he doesn't seem like such a bad guy. It's his cowardly approach to the presidential election that I don't like.

Perhaps, as many actors, he is unable to speak without a script? What it appears to be though, is that he's frightened to pit himself against the other candidates in the debates. Afraid of the tough questions and afraid to be put in a position where he might have to think on his feet and speak without a cue card. It doesn't end there though. Having dodged the bullet and avoided three debates, Fred is now apparently going to wait until July to 'announce' his unannounced entry into the race. The reason for the delay is obvious: if he announced now, he would have to disclose fund raising numbers for the current quarter and they would look poor. So it's just strategy right? Perhaps. Perhaps it's even good strategy, but it's certainly not good straightforward leadership, and that's something this country sorely needs right now.

I'm really not sure why Freddy entertained the idea of throwing his hat into the ring in the first place. Yes, there is dissatisfaction with the republican candidates, but for the most part the same things turning voters away from most of the declared pack are the same things Fred embodies. Namely the neocon agenda of perpetual and ever expanding war via an ill conceived interventionist foreign policy, growing government beyond all measure, taxing the people to death and stripping away civil rights and liberties. Honestly, what was he thinking? People are unhappy because they have bad choices so Fred puts himself forward as the worst choice? It makes no sense. The neocon koolaid seems to impart a discernable break from reality.

Neoconservatism (as well as its sister neoliberalism) has failed miserably. It's been tried and found wanting. Beyond just not working, this flawed philosophy born in a think tank is detrimental to America as a whole. The people have seen this and the people have rejected it. Time to rethink, reorganize and try something different, not continue along a failed path.

Perhaps at a different time in history Freddy would be hailed as presidential. Unfortunately for him, and thanks to the same failed policies he himself seems to be embracing, Bush and his cabal of criminals have steered this country into a very dark place and a president who is 'just okay' or even 'least bad' simply won't do. In this time of crisis, created entirely by bad neocon policy, we're facing a collapsing economy, endless detrimental foreign entanglements and the greatest challenge to the constitution since its signing. In this time of challenges, the country needs a real leader, not someone who plays one on television. We need a hero; someone with a keen understanding of foreign policy as well as economics and a defender of the constitution. The only person running that fits that bill is Congressman Ron Paul.

P.S. Adam Schiff was a better fictional district attorney too!