For the insomniac political junkies among us, Fred Thompson will finally make it official midnight

[Flabbergasted]

tonight...

Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/leadership/2007/09/05/politics-republicans-presidency-lead-cx_sm_0905thompson.html

Thompson Finally Steps Onstage
Steve McGookin, 09.05.07, 6:00 PM ET

For the insomniac political junkies among us, Fred Thompson will finally make it official at midnight tonight, declaring his intention to formally enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination with a video Webcast at his campaign site.

Those who have been hanging on the every word of Thompson the non-candidate in anticipation of his sweeping savior-like into a lackluster GOP field--recent polls show that only somewhere around half of Republican primary voters are "satisfied" with the current candidates--will likely see this move as the start of the campaign proper.

But tonight's "official" declaration won't come until he has used the medium where he plies his most recognizable trade to its fullest, with two further televisual teases. First, the Law & Order actor will run a 30-second ad during the Republican candidates' debate on Fox News this evening.

His spot will encourage voters to turn to his site www.fred08.com (which ahead of the announcement was redirecting visitors to www.imwithfred.com) to hear details of his declaration and his platform, before he drives home the message--and hopefully drives up his Internet traffic--with an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, taped earlier in the evening.

By the time the "official" official announcement gets rolled out, Thompson will be hoping his moment won't have passed. There's a fine line between anticipation and apathy. As George McGovern famously said after his "Come Home America" speech at the 1972 Democratic Convention was delayed because a raucous hall had gotten out of hand: "We were prime-time in Guam."

So, is the online medium now the accepted form of declaring political intent? Certainly Thompson isn't the first--Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, announced the forming of her exploratory committee with a Web video, sections of which were then subsequently replayed on news shows. Thompson's announcement tape, similarly, is providing set-up material for the morning broadcasts.

[spanone]

1. while the nation sleeps.......yawn.........

[TwilightGardener]

2. In other words, he will have been in bed, asleep for several hours when his

webcast runs. Because you KNOW this old sick fart isn't going to stay up till midnight.

[bluerum]

3. zzzz zz zzzzz snort snore zzzz

[Skink]

4. Google bomb?