Yeah, yeah, it’s the Times, but look: is this guy actually asking people for pity applause?

Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to “give my thoughts about some things.”

Then he stood face to a face with a silent audience.

“Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter.

“Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.

Excruciating. AmSpec editor Quin Hillyer isn’t real thrilled either with one of Fred’s recorded campaign phone messages: “[T]he overall effect was virtually an insult to my intelligence. A drunk Hollywood hack writing for a third-rate sitcom could have typed out those exact same words while in the midst of delirium tremens, as an intentional parody of what a hack conservative politician sounds like. Hacks know how to sound like hacks under almost any circumstance.” Too many platitudes, not enough policy meat on the bone — the same problem that marred his rebuttal to Hillary’s health care plan. Hillyer warns him to “stop coasting,” but maybe he’s not coasting. Maybe he’s just a lightweight. I guess we’ll see at the debate.

Further to that last point, here’s an amusing bit of animation from a lefty outfit called HeadAState. It’s the usual stuff but the punchline at the end is worth it.