I guess it worked for Arnold.

As the rest of the Presidential field, all 10 of them, debate tonight in Durham New Hampshire, Fred Thompson sits in the comfy chair next to Jay Leno to announce his candidacy for President.

While most of the punditry criticizes Thompson for skipping another debate, I am not not bothered in the least. The reason, no one is paying attention right now. Well, that excludes political junkies like you and me, but the average voter isn't paying attention until the calendar ends with an 8.

With the primary season moving up, I agree that the cycle will start sooner, but January is long way off.

If you want to handicap the race, follow the money. If Thompson fails to raise serious cash in the next two months, he will be slammed for waiting to long. If that happens, I will agree to a certain point that his timing played a role, but a candidate with a message can stand up to a good ground game. All the GOTV grassroots teams in Iowa will not get folks to vote for a candidate with a poor or unclear message. A good communicator with a clear message can move the polls in a hurry.

Fred may have a hard time living up to the expectations he has been saddled with, but that is where the rubber meets the road in politics.

The Republican primary season can now begin. Lets get rid of the second and third tier candidates and let the top 5 go at it hammer and tong.