Fred Thompson

So, Fred Thompson finally threw his hat in the ring. He officially announced his candidacy for president on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Although some of the presidential candidates have adopted somewhat untraditional ways of announcing their candidacies (i.e. webcasts), Thompson has been the recipient of criticism from both sides of the partisan line for his announcement. They're not irritated with him for his form of announcement, but rather for the fact that he chose to make his announcement on the Tonight Show and then not participate in the Republican Presidential debate. John McCain even quipped that the debate might be "past [Thompson's] bed time." His absence from the debate makes me wonder whether it was because he didn't want to go, or because he was afraid of the questions he would be asked and the issues that would be discussed. It seems like the debate would be a good chance for him to introduce himself to the voters and get his message out. I guess we'll never know.