Mere Rhetoric: BREAKING - Fred Thompson Says He Has Lymphoma

Update 6 (07:40 PST): This is the last update, then we're closing up this post. The Crimson Blog is also constantly updating, including some quotes from Thompson himself about the illness. The quotes are posted to Red State, and their server isn't responding at the moment - but at a minimum, you should click through to Crimson to read the excerpts.

Update 5 (07:20 PST): K-Lo agrees with us. And by "agrees with us" we mean "came to the exact same, relatively obvious conclusion" as us:

I’ve now talked to folks very close to the senator this morning. “He is doing great.” The cancer is in remission. That he is letting its existence be public is a sign of his seriousness about the possibility of running.

Update 4 (07:12 PST): Fox News has an oncologist on right now. "If you're going to get any kind of cancer... God is good to give you this kind of cancer". That's what we want to hear.

Update 3 (07:10 PST): Niel Cavuto on Fox News. He says that Thompson requested the interview specifically to get the news out there, and to gauge the reaction in relation to a potential run. Which is exactly what we want to hear - because now the machine can go to work explaining why this shouldn't stand in the way of the Presidency.

Update 2 (06:55 PST): Again with a tip of the hat to AP, Fox News has a story online with some more details. The channel itself is going to be running the Duke lacrosse story for the next eight hours or so - so we're not holding out hope for anything useful from there. Good news money quote:

Thompson, who is considering a run for the White House in 2008, says the illness is treatable. "I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected. I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future—and with no debilitating side effects," Thompson said.

Here's our counterintuitive spin: we think this announcement is a sign that Thompson is planning to make a run for the Presidency. He's getting the medical information out there, he'll wait a couple of weeks for the pundits to explain that it's a medical non-story, and they'll he'll enter the race with this monkey off his back publicity-wise. We hope.

Update (06:40 PST):
CNN is doing something about the weather, and Fox News is covering the Anna Nicole Smith custody hearings. Natch.

Original:
We just got it from Hot Air a couple of minutes ago. Fox News is updating and we'll post if anything really strikes the eye, but since Allah broke it and is updating at HA you should go there.

This sucks.

References:
* Breaking: Fred Thompson says he has lymphoma

Previously:
* Fred Thompson On How To Be A Careful Conservative
* Fred Thompson For President
* Your End Of the Week Fred Thompson Fix