Fred are you reading this?

“There is a genuine interest in Sen. Thompson here, a real curiosity about him,” New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen said. “But that curiosity is giving way to skepticism and maybe even cynicism about him in part because of how he’s handling his grand entrance. For him to then go on Jay Leno the same night and be trading jokes while other candidates are having a substantive discussion on issues is not going to be missed by New Hampshire voters.”

Questions for Fred:
Why are you avoiding the debates?

Why are you staying away from NH tonight?

How do you explain this?

Among the votes sure to be popular among conservatives are a 1997 vote to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and a 1999 vote against requiring guns to be sold with gun locks. Another frequent Thompson target was a subsidy to promote U.S. agricultural products overseas, which he regularly voted to slash.

But on immigration, Mr. Thompson had several votes where he bucked the pack — and seemed to favor illegal aliens.

The most stark example was his 1995 vote on the welfare overhaul, when he voted to preserve illegal aliens’ ability to receive federal benefits. He was one of just six senators to vote that way, joining four other Republicans and one Democrat.

And in 1996, as Congress considered a crackdown on illegal aliens, Mr. Thompson voted against setting up a system so employers could verify the legal status of their workers.

An adviser to the campaign on immigration matters, who asked not to be named, said Mr. Thompson had concerns about how broadly the public-benefits provision was drawn. As for the employer verification system, the adviser said Mr. Thompson joined a majority of Republicans in the chamber in opposing it, with many of them thinking the new system would lead to a national ID card.

Meanwhile John McCain is taking some punches up here as well:

“Thanks for the question, you little jerk,” McCain joked back to one student who asked the 71-year-old about his age. “You’re drafted.”

Okeedokee.

“If elected, you’d be older than Ronald Reagan, making you the oldest president. Do you ever worry you might die in office or get Alzheimer’s or some other disease that might affect your judgment?” one student asked.

The audience groaned; McCain slid into a joke.

“I think it was one of my sons that alleged I’m getting to the point I hide my own Easter eggs,” McCain said to laughter. “When you saw my 95-year-old mother (on a video introduction), you saw the kind of genes I have.”

At least McCain will be at the debate to face questions from grown ups. Fred won’t be there. This says much. A few months ago I attended an event in Manchester, where Fred was giving a talk. He could not stand up for more than 10 minutes without needing to sit down; he appeared tired and worn out. Not exactly Presidential. Very unhealthy looking.

I suspect this is why Fred has avoided entering the race so far; his health isn’t as good as he would like. Hiding behind TV ads and You Tube speeches, he can avoid the scrutiny he would otherwise receive. McCain jokes about his age. I am not a fan of either.
But it is interesting to watch the two of them drum up the drama.