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The party establishment hates it, the candidates hate it, as a consultant I hated it, but in my capacities as a commentator - I love it.

Last week when Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel announced that he would have something to announce later today (very likely his intention to seek the presidency, stay tuned for my analysis after he make his announcement which may not be what you think it is… geez, that was a mouthful), along with Newt Gingrich’s recent pre-emptive acknowledgement that he has sinned and then this

weekend when another Thompson (is Tommy Thompson still running?) former Tennesee Senator and actor Fred Thompson hinted that he’s considering running, I rubbed my hands together and said

GOODY!

In this growing crowd of recent maybes for the GOP nomination, only Thompson (FRED) has a real chance of getting through. Hagel won’t be able to make it with rank and file Republican primary voters (how can you be a legitimate GOPer and be that outspoken about the war?), Gingrich’s downside (beyond the fires of hatred he fans on the left and his marital escapades) is that he actually takes a position on things, while Thompson (FRED)’s strategy of waiting for the party to breakdown is probably the best for this race (and the worst for the party). Thompson (FRED) (who’s christofacist conservative credentials are only marred by his tap-dancing on Roe as “settled - yet bad - law”) make him attractive to most folks on the far right. Add to that his “star quality” (if you can really make that claim for a grumpy old redneck) and his campaign makes sense for a struggling GOP after the pending summer candidate bloodbath.

I don’t care, because I want them all to get in.

Everytime somebody new comes to the table it just expands the envelope of ideas and also makes the nomination of a Giuliani or a Romney more possible (although at the same time it creates a stronger position for someone like McCain who is now the establishment candidate… having the largest number of delegates in a field where no one has a majority still makes you the frontrunner). It also provides the opportunity for someone we haven’t even considered yet to get in and actually gain a majority of support.

The possibilities are endless and I’m loving every minute of it