In May, Rep. Zack Wamp (R-Tenn.) said Thompson is qualified for the presidency because he’s tall. A month later, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews got a litt
August 15, 2007

In May, Rep. Zack Wamp (R-Tenn.) said Thompson is qualified for the presidency because he’s tall. A month later, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews got a little creepy in praising Thompson, complimenting the former senator’s odor:

TAP’s Garance Franke-Ruta spoke to a “leading figure in the Iowa Republican Party” about the actor-lobbyist-senator, who explained why so many conservatives are excited about a Thompson campaign.

“Can you imagine what debates are going to be like with great big Andrew Jackson-looking Fred and Hillary on her stubby little legs, stamping her feet?” Thompson, if elected, would be the tallest president ever. Republicans are not just looking for the usual John Wayne-type signifiers as they go about selecting a candidate, but thinking about who can best loom over Hillary Clinton and make her look like a shrill, small, silly little woman. Thompson’s booming voice will make her “sound like Madame Defarge.”

In other words, the GOP wants a big guy. Not in terms of stature or intellect, but in physical size. (For what it’s worth, like Kevin, I think Hillary would humiliate Thompson in a debate).

It’s discouraging enough when campaigns descent into personality contests, but rank-and-file Republicans apparently are looking at this race as a contest to pick the captain of a basketball team.

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