Vote for Me, I Don't Want This Job

One of your Bloviator's favorite passages in literature belongs to the under-appreciated novelist John P. Marquand (best known, if at all, for "The Late George Appley," a splendid satire on protestant, nineteenth-century cold-roast Boston), and found in his novel "Wickford Point."

Tranquil, soul-satisfying apathy settled over the dining room. The sound of droning insects came through the window like the soft breach of sleep; an oriole sang a few throaty, liquid notes and stopped exhausted; the leafy shadows of elm branches scarcely moved upon the lawn. A house fly buzzed and beat its head against the window screen. The collision made a metallic sound which was followed by silence. The fly rubbed its wings with its hind legs, but did not try again. As Cousin Clothilde gazed at the smoke from her cigarette I noticed a lack of customary sound. The tall clock in the corner had stopped.

The quoted passage has come to mind frequently these past months for I am reminded of it everytime I read about the presidential campaign of Fred Thompson. Thompson long ago won your Bloviator's heart for the very reason he has been excoriated by critics in recent months: lacking "fire in the belly," not giving the impression his overwhelming desire is to be president of the United States. Good for him. Neither did my favorite presidents of the past century, Coolidge, Ike and Reagan, and going back further, Washington. All of them dispatched their duties with quiet competency and then quickly disappeared back into their private lives. Thompson strikes me as one who would do same. Not being a liberal, hence not being a megalomaniac who measures his success by how many vast and expensive taxpayer-funded government programs he can get past Congress, Thompson would (I hope) view his charge if elected as forestalling, as much as his office might permit, our country's inexorable slide into socialism. Perhaps by the end of his term (or terms), the citizenry's propensities for entitlements will have lessened. If so, bully for him. If not, bully for him also, at least he will have, like Mrs. Thatcher, postponed our nation's date with collectivist hell.

The reason for this posting is candidate Thompson seems to have done quite well tonight in the debates in South Carolina with some saying he just might stand a chance. Let us hope.