Former senator Fred Thompson appeared in a brief video ad posted on YouTube today to call attention to his plans to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. Thompson, who said his official announcement will come on his Web site, reportedly has arranged to run a commercial during tonight’s GOP debate, although he won’t participate. Thompson is scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, instead.
“Why wait to squeeze a short television ad in between all those tooth whitener commercials,” said Katie Phillips on The New York Times’ The Caucus blog. Thompson will sidestep the 90 minutes that his rivals spend “debating important points on a stage in New Hampshire,” and he’ll be the one who grabs the headlines.
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