True text conversation from last week:

Two things are readily apparent. The first is that text messages are even geekier when you use the equality operator instead of the assignment operator. The second is that Stan was right and we were wrong. Sigh.

The week after this text conversation we heard Sen. Thompson on Hannity - and he just killed. Just absolutely killed. He was thoughtful, he was emphatic, he was deeply, deeply ethical. Hannity suggested that Thompson is in line for "the mantle of Reagan," mainly because Thompson is more socially conservative than McCain, Giuliana, or Romney. Instead of doing what everyone else would have done and demurred-but-not-really, Thompson pushed back and said that being Reaganesque is about sticking to one's principles and not about taking any particular position - and then went on to explain that Reagan wasn't all that socially conservative as a governor. He also took nuanced positions about abortion and gay marriage - at one point even stopping Hannity and saying "people need to know this about me - I'm against a Constitutional amendment against abortion". Then he launched into a discussion about the virtues of federalism that warmed our academic hearts.

Sen. Thompson showed the same grace when talking about the Democratic field. He was especially good on Obama. The ethos that he's got toward Obama is just perfect - the serious elder veteran indulgently treating Obama's passion as the exuberance of the young. We're giddy to watch a debate between these two, where Sen. Thompson just dismantles Obama bit by bit - all the while expressing his admiration for how great it is to see raw passion, if only we weren't facing a world of widespread nuclear proliferation where what's needed is level-headedness and experience.

Have we mentioned that he's a candidate who would just overwhelm opponents with outright smarts? We're among the first to ridicule insecure liberals who reinforce their misguided sense of superiority by reciting Bushisms - but even we'll admit that Sen. Thompson is simply in a different class. In another context, we suspect that he might have made a half-way decent policy wonk. There will be no cringing when he gets up on stage to debate confidently opponents - only respect and admiration.

The United States needs Fred Thompson to enter the Republican primary, win the Republican primary, and then win the general election. The good news is that a lot of people are working to draft him, and it increasingly looks like he's going to run.

Draft Fred Thompson.

References:
* Dejafoo
* The Case For Fred Thompson
* Tennessee Republican Congressmen announce launch of ‘Draft Fred Thompson 2008’ committee
* Wamp Says Thompson Likely To Run For President

Previously:
* The Democratic Party and American Jews: The Divorce Is Going To Be Ugly
* Republicans Defeat Fascist Democrats (Seriously!!)
* Democrats are Vulgar, Republicans are Funny