Pierced

Charlie Pierce writes a letter to Eric Alterman about the Republican debates. It's a great read and a quality take on the entire affair. Here's an excerpt:

This is a field with the gallows in its eyes. They all know full well that, for six full years, they had the chance that Reagan never really had. They controlled all three branches of the government, and they cowed the elite press far more thoroughly than did Mike Deaver and that bunch. And now they realize to whom they handed the keys of the kingdom, and they're all standing there surrounded by bills that are coming due almost by the day. "Movement conservatism" -- which takes Reagan as a secular icon even though he largely saved it from many of its own excesses -- is an empty shell. It always was a bunch of resentments pretending to be an ideology, and it always contained within itself the poisons that would leach out and kill it.

I never really thought about it much, but the pics I've seen are just that ... like a bunch of white boys going to the gallows. The only candidate I've seen that even seems to really have a chance is Fred Thompson. Unfortunately I suspect that if he gets serious about running, his health problems will sink his chances. Everyone is playing all nicey nicey about his cancer for now, but if he gets serious expect there to be a lot of raised eyebrows about having a Preznit with the big C in the White House.