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(Speculations is in the air, with the dust mites and pollen.)

By Mark Kilmer Posted in Archived — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

What about Romney-Thompson '08? Thompson is not mentioned in Amanda's story (below), but Adam Groves in Tennessee sees it looming:

Lamar Alexander and Fred Thompson are close ... really close. If anything disqualifies Thompson from running for President, it's Lamar's soft committment to Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign. The prescence of Alexander staffers at Romney events in Tennessee before talk of Thompson entering the fray popped up signaled his soft support. So there may be something big to this tidbit that Thompson was spotted at dinner with Romney strategist Alex Castellanos. Can we say most valuable Vice Presidential candiate? [mentally put the sic's where they belong]

Thompson as Romney's veep? Romney as Thompson's?

Or is it Lamar Alexander and Alex Castellanos talking to Thompson about the possibility of hard support?

Intrigue is nifty.

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Here, EARTHtimes.org quotes from the Salon.com teen fashion web site:

Alex Castellanos is Known for Producing Vicious and Irresponsible Attack Ads. Castellanos is "father of the modern attack ad." He is known as "vicious [and] irresponsible." [Salon.com, 3/15/04]

They've lots of little stuff on Castellanos if you scroll to their last bit, but that's the left talking as the left often does.

According to the Boston Globe, Castellanos was the Romney guy who drafted the famous 77-page Powerpoint which described Romney's greatest Presidential asset, his hair, as a liability. Castellanos was also Thompson's media guy [x] in the day, though I imagine he didn't have much to say about the hair.

Rich Galen, in CNSNews.com commentary, reports:

This past Friday night the Mullings Director of Standards & Practices and I were having dinner at our favorite restaurant, Landini's in Old Town when it came to our attention that former Senator Fred Thompson was on premises and was sitting with Republican /'fcber-media-maven Alex Castellanos. [my hat tips to Hotline on Call.]

He also reports that "CBS News characterized Castellanos as 'a strategist for Mitt Romney.'" Yeah, he's Mitt's media guy, one of the best.

Mary Ann Akers, who blogs with the WashPost recently reported that Thompson recently had lunch "at the see-and-be-seen Mayflower hotel restaurant with GOP Party guru Ed Gillespie." Gillespie is currently attempting to save the Virginia GOP, so he shan't be working for Thompson, but Ed's the kind of guy whose mind Thompson would want to pick if preparing to embark on a campaign.

But isn't this all taking us further away from Romney? It's been speculated that a Thompson entry into the race dooms the Romney venture, so it could be that Castellanos was talking to his former boss about a spot in his campaign should Castellanos be freed from his current position. If this be the case, then some in the Romney camp acknowledge that Fred's eventual entry is the end for Mitt's top-of-ticket.

Would Romney consider the Veep slot? (We're way ahead of ourselves, but 't is the spirit of this season.) I do not know the answer. From appearances, one would think Romney has it great: a beautiful and loving wife, a strong family, financial security, a fan club, and a strong faith which gives him comfort. It would be up to him, but Thompson would be crazy not to at least ask. It's a geographic balance, Romney's a proven statesman, and it would give Thompson The Secret Weapon. (Hugh Hewitt knows.)

You know, we still do not know for sure that Fred Thompson will run, so we'll have to content ourselves, for now, with chasing our own tails, or at least the possibility of tilting at 6'6" windmills.