Have You Heard About Fred Thompson...

There sure seems to be a spate of commenters in conservative blog threads worried about Fred Thompson's health and advising him to spend more time with his family. The posts are very similar -- close enough to suggest that it's either one person, or an organized campaign.

I first noticed it here, in a post I wrote over the weekend:

AP reports were correct coming out of Iowa and actually gave him the benefit of the doubt. He could only walk for 20 minutes and had to rest, ignored people calling his name, driven around in a golf cart, didn't eat, and looks terrible.

He has not been seen for over a week at a campaign event and some of you think this man can go through a grueling campaign with his new way of campaigning which is having someone write his papers and put it on the net as his?

Talk to the aides that quit and you will get an entirely different story.

This man needs to stay home with his wife and kids. You do remember Tsongas and if you don't, then you should look him up.

If you want a 'real' conservative to go Brownback or Hunter.

Take the blinders off. Fred is a nice man but he is also a very sick man that anyone can see from the pictures of the Fair.

Awfully sensitive, my commenter -- comparing Thompson to Tsongas (who died of cancer just a few years after campaigning for the Presidency. It seems like the same person showed up in the comment thread at Reformed Chicks Blabbing:

When are you going to wake up and face reality that Fred Thompson looks very old and very ill. What is wrong with some of you? This man should be home with his family. One campaign appearance in well over a week and then can only walk 20 minutes with Sen Grassley before having to rest, ignores people calling his name, and rides around in a golf cart not eating? That man is is ill and the sooner some of you realize it maybe he will decide to stay home with his young children and not be putting stress on himself.

Quit deluding yourselves as the man would have been in the race in the spring if he was completely well...

You do remember Paul Tsongas, don't you? Looks at Fred's arms and his neck/face and tell me that people are going to vote for someone that looks that unhealthy.

Go support Duncan Hunter or Sam Brownback because they are 'real' conservatives and don't pander to conservatives like Fred.

He's also over at Pajamas Media, with almost the same comment:

Have you not taken a good look at Fred Thompson. He looks very old and very ill. No one loses that much weight on purpose. He has trouble concentrating when it came out that Grassley had to direct him to people calling his name and after walking for 20 minutes had to rest. Then he rides in a golf cart.

There is something really wrong with a man with this little energy when he hasn't been out campaigning every day. He doesn't look up to campaigning every day and I want to know why people are encourging an obviosly sick man to run. He needs to be home with his family and if his wife is behind this it makes it even more bizarre...

If all of you care for Fred Thompson like you say you do, then you would not be encouraging him to run. This isn't about politics but about a man's health and he looks very unhealthy. It was the same way in NH when he got in a car to ride to his room at the hotel which was a 2-minute walk. The Fred of old would have walked and talked to everyone along the way. This Fred does not go into crowds or talk for very long.

Time some of you put Fred's health of your obvious selfish interest. BTW, he is not even that conservative which means you are seeing Fred the actor not Fred the person.

He... or she(?) seems to be over at Ankle Biting Pundits as well, where there's a similar comment listed under the name 'Samantha:'

Finally someone else is seeing how unhealthy he looks as he has lost so much weight. When you look at him as a whole, he looks really old and very ill. What is wrong with some of the people that cannot see what is before their eyes.

Some of you should be encouraging him to enjoy his family not run for office. A lot of people have him confused with the actor which is sad they cannot separate the two. If he was a Democrat, posters on here would be attacking him for running but since he is a Republican it is okay which is just flat out wrong...

If a candidate was healthy, they would never ride around in a golf cart and they wouldn’t ignore supporters that wanted to see them. Twenty minutes with Grassley and he had to go rest but supporters think he can run a general election campaign when the reason he is delaying getting in the race is obviously his health. He campaigns like one day a week.

I don't think you can reliably guess whether the attacks are coming from a rival GOP campaign, or from a Democrat trying to 'soften him up' for the general election. Either way, it seems pretty despicable to me.

Still, I suppose it is to be expected. As they say, politics ain't beanbag. And if Thompson wants to win the nomination, I suppose we will see more of these attacks.