Thursday, December 13, 2007

Anti trivial trivialities in the presidential election

In yesterday's presidential debate, the Republican presidential candidates were asked for a show of hands to indicate whether they believed that global warming was a significant threat caused by man. Fred Thompson rebelled against the format and asked if he could give a minute long answer.

No way, said the moderator.

Thirty seconds?

Nope.

Thompson refused to play along, an act that is now being compared to Ronald Reagan refusing to give up the microphone in the 1980 New Hampshire debate. Some are speculating that this trivial little incident could light a fire for the campaign.

Now think about this suggestion--that one mildly entertaining little comment could change the course of the presidential race. Thompson was rebelling against the format of the debate because it trivialized the process, and now that trivial little act could spark a renewed public interest in the campaign?

Don't get me wrong. I'm for Thompson. We'll take it. But the political process gets more surreal by the day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If only Thompson hadn't waited he might have had a shot. Right now i think Huckabee has a better chance than Thompson. I am wrong?

Martin Cothran said...

I think you're probably right. Huckabee definitely has the momentum right now. And right now, momentum is everything. But it also makes him a target. Now the rest are gunning for him.

A friend of mine always says, "You just can't tell about these ball games." Same thing applies to politics: anything can happen. I've been around long enough to know that, in politics, even one week is a very long time.