1.) Mike Huckabee told MSNBC this morning that “Fred Thompson needs some Metamucil.” I don’t think so highly of the Governor as I once did, but the fact remains that he can be pretty funny. The Metamucil line is good because it’s fresh and because it will take Fred another week and a half to come up with a comeback. It also brings up an important point about Huckabee’s candidacy: Jokes are almost never as funny the second time around. Invariably that wears off on the comic himself as well: If he has a good line in an interview, it might work its way into his stump, but the sense of timing is gone, and its told in a droning rhetorical fashion rather than a comedic one.2.) Hillary Clinton’s attempt to draw a parallel between the civil rights movement and the democratic primary might not be the dumbest move of the last month (I’ve reserved the top five spots for Fred Thompson), but it should certainly be part of the discussion. Rather than just reject the premise that Obama is in MLK’s class, as she should have, she instead took on Dr. King himself, arguing that it was Lydon Johnson who was in the end responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement. In effect arguing that it was the experienced politician (her), and not the skilled orator/inspirational leader/freedom riders/everyone else basically that brought about change.I mean, there are probably facts that she could have used to support that, but why would anyone in her right mind want to? It’s one thing to try and burst Obama’s bubble, but it’s another thing entirely to put forth the notion, in the middle of an election, that the power to effect change is held by a select few–not ordinary people. So now, after unnecessarily attempting to rewrite King’s legacy, her words may have prompted James Clyburn to break his silence and endorse the other guy.Two other problems with her scenario: First, does she really want to compare herself to LBJ? There was that whole Vietnam thing, which as a particularly hawkish democrat, probably isn’t the best association for Hillary to be making. Second, Obama is actually running for president, so if I accept the idea that inspiration is nice but presidents are stronger, why shouldn’t I just pick the inspirational guy to be president?3.) I was just thinking the other day about how badly we need another president incapable of distinguishing between Al Qaeda and the sovereign nation of Iran. At last night’s debate, Fred Thompson said this about the Iranian speedboat incident:
“I think one more step, and they would have been introduced to those virgins they’re looking forward to seeing.”
Truefacts, Fred. Truefacts.
