It�s not hard to tell from this WaPo story on

Fred Thompson that both the pundits and the so-called strategists want to emphasize the problems he will encounter with his late entry, his lack of arganization and infrastructure, brood over which week or day or hour he should announce to get a few days� media boost, etc. But Thompson seems only to want to "relate to the people." And with statements like these he might be able to do that: Is his after Labor Day annoucement too late? "I wasn�t there when they made those rules, so I�m not abiding by them. We�ve got plenty of time." Is he appealing to the conservative base? "I am unabashedly pro-life. I am pro-Second Amendment. And I don�t apologize for the United States of America. This country has shed more blood for the freedom of other people than all the other nations in the history of the world combined, and I�m tired of people feeling like they�ve got to apologize for America."

It seems to me that both Thompson�s late entry--which also seems "the closest thing to a successful draft
of a presidential candidate in more than a half-century"--and the reasons for the late entry will prove entirely to his advantage. One operative in the WaPo article claims that with all the "top activists and operatives" gone to other campaigns, Thompson will be relegated to running a campaign based on his "personality and issues." Could that possibly be to his disadvantage given the rest of the field?

It�s a perfect day in Ohio, by the way, so I�m off with Isabella.