THOMPSON WEIGHS IN - IS HE RUNNING IN 2012? - AT 7:38 A.M. ET:  Former Senator Thompson ran a lackluster campaign for the Republican nomination last year, but there've been some signs recently that he plans a revised run in 2012.  At his best, he can be an excellent candidate, as these caustic remarks on Obama's Afghanistan speech demonstrate.  From NRO:

I was wondering how he was going to pull off the famous Obama split.
He did it chronologically, and in two ways.

First, in the speech itself:
In the first part of his speech he sounded like Winston Churchill.
In the second part of his speech, he sounded like Lady Churchill.

Secondly, with regard to his course of action:
Commit troops for the Right, and then announce their withdrawal prematurely,
in time for the 2012 election — for the Left.

It was clear for the world to see that we are without the most important ingredient for a chance of success: a determined president whose heart is in the effort.

COMMENT:  Fred said it better than anyone else.  Now, if we can have more of this, and a more animated guy on camera than we saw last year, he's got a shot.

December 3, 2009