So, Fred Thompson Doubts He'll Win

In a level of candor that is highly unusual for a candidate considered to be in the "top-tier" in a relatively wide-open race, Fred Thompson made some comments acknowledging that he doesn't think he's going to win.

The overall tone of the article is anything but sympathetic to Thompson, suggesting this was a big gaffe on his part, and repeating the accusations that he is lazy. To me, though, the article actually makes Thompson more appealing, and I'm really starting to warm to the guy.

Frankly, after 8 years of an extremely active executive, maybe a lazy man is exactly what we need, if only for one term. Indeed, despite accusations to the contrary, the man who thinks we don't need to do very much is the man who is likely to be the most genuine optimist. Certainly, a generally lazy attitude towards the use of executive power is as fundamentally libertarian as you can get- even if Thompson isn't a real libertarian himself. On top of all that, his candor about his chances is refreshing- it suggests someone who really is playing the role of the reluctant candidate and is thus not willing to sacrifice who he is at heart in order to get something he doesn't really want in the first place; when it comes to power, frequently the best man for the job is the man who wants it the least.

I still prefer Paul, but oddly enough, my personal willingness to support Thompson is increasing proportionally to the willingness of most others to begin abandoning him. For my preferences, the gap between Thompson and Paul has decreased dramatically these last few weeks.