The Next Puppet President?

There was a time when George Allen was the clear republican frontrunner to succeed George Bush as the next simple-minded, good ol’ boy, puppet president. He had all the requisite qualities. He’s dumb as a post, he likes western attire, and he has a family affiliation with professional sports. He’s the kind of guy who could get support from the conservative base simply because he seems comfortable and familiar.



Like Bush in 2000, he could get elected for being the guy they’d like to have a beer with. But also like Bush, he would probably be satisfied with meaningless photo ops, and getting to strut around calling himself “The Decider,” and “Commander Guy” while the Dick Cheneys’ and Donald Rumsfelds’ of the world secretly ran the country.

But, as it turned out, “Macaca” Allen proved to be too stupid, even to follow in George Bush’s footsteps! And Bush has pretty much burned out the “western sportsman” archetype of the guy you don’t actually know, but still want to have a beer with! So who’s next in line to fill the necessary role of the puppet president?

My good friend (whom I’ve never met), Emptywheel, had an excellent post describing her impression of Fred Thompson as possibly filling that role.

And Josh Marshall (whom I’ve also never met) recently informed me, as I drank my morning coffee, that Thompson is considered by many to be a leading presidential candidate because he has the kind of speaking voice that makes people feel secure and comfortable.

Finally, I learned from my pal, Kos (who was once in the same room, just a few feet away from me – having a conversation with another well-known blogger whose opinions I often love to consider over lunch) that Fred Thompson likes to blog.

And I thought, how convenient! It occurs to me that among the people I don’t know, but still feel comfortable enough to want to have a beer with them, are a pretty large number of bloggers. In fact, blogging is quite an excellent way to make strangers feel that they know you, get them to like you and feel comfortable with you, and it maybe even make them willing to vote for you!

That’s right folks – when it comes to republican presidential politics, Blogging may be the new ”Fake Cowboy on a Bicycle!”