So I thought Fred Thompson's chances at the GOP nomination were looking pretty good - right up until I took a look at Fred Thompson. For some reason, I had this idea that he'd been frozen in time around Die Hard 2, but here he is getting interviewed by Sean Hannity last week, and looking, well, a lot older than I expected. It's particularly remarkable when you consider that he's only five years Mitt Romney's senior - though Romney, obviously, has made some kind of fountain-of-youth pact with the devil:
But it isn't just that Thompson looks his age, and then some. If you fast-forward to the 6:45 moment, you'll hear him talking about how his pro-life views were sharpened when he saw a sonogram of his daughter kicking in the womb - which is a touching story, but also a reminder that Thompson's daughter is only three years old, which in turn is a reminder that Thompson's wife is twenty-five years younger than he is. We've had Presidents and presidential candidates with younger wives before: Edith Wilson, Woodrow's wife, was sixteen years his junior, Liddy Dole is thirteen years younger than Bob, and of course Grover Cleveland topped them all. But even in this age of second marriages and late-in-life childbearing, I'm not sure the country will be all that thrilled to have what looks, fairly or not, like a trophy wife in the White House.
Then again, some of the other potential first spouses have their weaknesses, too ...
Hey, I thought America was for winners? Don't they get trophies?
Seriously though, I think Hillary has the bitter "First Wives Club Vote" locked up no matter who Republicans nominate.
Giuliani is a disaster marriage-wise. McCain came back from years of torture. I think that innoculates him from his marriage's break-up. Anyone who is sure their marriage would survive that can throw a stone.
One of the posts you linked to did include a comment as to why Thompson's first marriage to his high-school sweet-heart broke up. Let' face it, after Hillary-Bill, what the ex-wife thinks of him is going to govern much of the public attitude.
And what about Chris Dodd? He is short and plump and famously chased girls with Ted Kennedy. I think his kids are the same age as Thompson's youngest.
Posted by jjv | May 7, 2007 11:55 AM