Ode to Uncle Fred

Fred Thompson is out of the Republican Race for the White House and somehow, amazingly, Rudolph Giuliani is still in it. While this apparent logical paradox is perplexing and unexpected (many voiced the belief that Rudy would be first to withdraw), it is not necessarily disappointing. No one can deny that Uncle Fred Thompson is an entertaining man: as a trained Television Actor afloat in a sea of trained parrot-men rhetoricians, he joined Congressman Paul in breaking rank from party line theatrics. Uncle Fred knows what the American public expects to see in a politician, because he’s provided the essence in portrayal time and time again. However, Thompson’s complete lack of energy grew so wearisome that even his ceaseless statements of all-encompassing absurdity could only feebly grasp at the straws of public interest.

In this way Uncle Fred embodies the zeitgeist of this dreary presidential campaign of 2008 anno domini. Tired, aimless, contrived and vaguely familiar.

Read Uncle Fred’s official goodbye on the official campaign Web site.

Here is an audio clip from NPR analyzing Thompson’s departure.

A great tribute video from YouTube.

This piece by Lloyd Garver for Yahoo! News posits very interesting theories regarding the circumstances of not just Thompson’s departure but his entire “candidacy.” As Garver sees it, Thompson has grown so accustomed to pretending to be a politician in film and television that when the Moving Pictures Business slows down he reclines into public office to pretend to be a politician in real life. Methinks he is on to something.

Jeff Greenfield at Slate has done a great writeup on the unconventional nature of this primary season so far.

Aside from their aforementioned “maverick” attitudes, Thompson and Congressman Ron Paul have been the two GOP candidates pointed to as Conservatives, or “True Conservatives” as opposed to the beloved Neo-cons. I guess this means that Paul is left as the lone voice of conservative principles among the Republican hopefuls.

And now what? All eyes look to Florida, particularly the pair of peppers belonging to Rudolph Giuliani. The Sunshine State is a frequent site of contention, why would 2008 be any different? Little else has been. It seems only natural that Rudy would invest so much of his hope in America’s Favorite Peninsula (sorry, Michigan fans). The latest polls show McCain ahead in Florida, followed closely by Giuliani. In Naples, Fl. yesterday, Mitt Romney praised Uncle Fred as a “great senator.” According to the CBS news article, the Romney ship is expecting to pick up castaways from the capsized S.S. Thompson. It also provides colorful on-the-scene description of a Romney Co. campaign stop:

“Romney stood on the backseat of a silver Mustang convertible and spoke through a bullhorn to the people who couldn’t get into the building.”

We’ll miss you, Uncle Fred, but luckily the undisputed King of the Show will still be around for some time to come.

Until next time, True Believers, keep going for The Gold!