Thompson's Slow-Pitch Softball

Ross acknowledges that "Dateline" deserves credit for having "made us all realize there is a serious national problem" with child predators. But he questions whether Hansen misleads the suspects into thinking he is a police officer by not initially identifying himself as a reporter. (One asked Hansen, "Am I under arrest?") Hansen has said he always identifies himself if asked.

Rival network or not, Ross says, "I tried to make it a very straight report."

Furthermore . . .

Back to Thompson: Now that Fred is in, the right is wondering if he has what it takes. National Review Editor Rich Lowry puts it succinctly:

"The best question for the Thompson campaign doesn't have to do with timing, but with rationale; it isn't about 'When?' but 'Why?'

"The Republican presidential field doesn't obviously lack for a former senator with an unremarkable public record and a career as a character actor. Excitement built around him earlier this year as the default candidate, the 'someone else' when underwhelmed Republican primary voters were looking for one. Now that he's moved from 'someone else' to 'another candidate in a field of nine,' the default position no longer will suffice. Thompson isn't 'lazy' -- the rap against him -- by any reasonable measure. He didn't become a Watergate investigator, prosecutor, actor, and senator by sleeping late and watching daytime TV. But his Senate career tells against him. Not because he didn't have the energy to make much of it, but because he apparently didn't have the desire . . .

"Thompson has two main draws. One is stylistic, even though he has a kind of anti-style -- a low-key, no-nonsense bearing that gives him a sense of quiet authority. The downside is that this can seem to be a lack of passion. His appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno announcing his candidacy was so somnolent that you could be forgiven for wondering if he wasn't already bored with running for president. His other appeal is ideological. Thompson has a more consistent conservative record than Romney or Giuliani. But, a product of the moderate-conservative Tennessee GOP, he was never a firebrand either. In the gotcha environment of the primary race, Thompson will have to defend past heterodoxies on abortion, immigration, campaign-finance reform and tort reform."

Every candidate has to defend past twists and turns. The larger issue--Thompson's rationale--is echoed by the Wall Street Journal editorial page:

"The biggest question he has to answer is, Why President Thompson? So far he hasn't provided one, other than he's none of the other candidates. But voters will want more than that, and it would behoove Mr. Thompson to think big in terms of campaign themes."

Peggy Noonan ticks off the other candidates' weaknesses before turning to Fred:

"Mitt Romney is--well, he continues to seem like someone who's stepped from the shower and been handed a dress shirt by his manservant George."

Thompson "has come in saying, essentially, I'm not the other guys. That's good, but raises the questions: Who are you? And the reason you're running for president would be . . .?"