Media Criticism

Alright, my title is misleading because Fred Thompson could have burped out that he was running for president or gone on Carson Daly to announce his candidacy. His appearance on The Tonight Show was another bob-and-weave performance by Thompson who has been content with staying above the fray for the last few months. He joked with show business colleague Jay Leno about how tough it is to get on his show and how America needs a person like him.

I think the reason why I am so annoyed with Thompson is that he has capitalized on the media’s rabid interest in speculation to perfection. He has done what other candidates with the same amount of juice should have done which is wait as long as possible to avoid the grinder of primary debates that have taken place on both sides. Fred Thompson is so damn savvy it makes me sick!

In all seriousness, I take issue with the growing interest in Thompson. He may as well have worn a mask and hid in the shadows for all of the details he has provided on how he will improve the country if elected president. The media defines the buzz around a candidate in proportion to their enigmatic approach to actually announcing their candidacy. Reporters have been beaten over the head with rejections by Al Gore, toyed around with by Newt Gingrich and allowed to peak into the life of Fred Thompson without any possible repercussions because he has not been a candidate until today. Prepare for an enema of questions by the media, Fred. Just think of how nice it was to work as a voice over actor on Racing Stripes.

The overall question is whether Fred Thompson will add any value to the election. The public already complains that there are too many choices. One more white conservative lawyer on the Republican side does not seem to be the tonic for the public’s annoyance. I think Thompson will get crushed in the front-loaded election cycle and will leave much more quickly than he entered. For all those people who say that Ronald Reagan was an actor and look what he did, Fred Thompson is no Ronald Reagan. I may despise what the Reagan Administration did to this country but he was a committed politician for a long time after he left acting. I look forward to Fred Thompson playing a district attorney in Dick Wolfe’s new series, Law and Order: Dead Careers Unit.