Strange but true: Even though he’s still third in some national polls, Fred’s profile right now among GOP candidates is arguably not only lower than Rudy’s, Huck’s, and Mitt’s, but given the current standings in New Hampshire and the forthcoming fourth quarter fundraising reports, it’s lower than McCain’s and Paul’s, too. I saw an item about his empty schedule last week at either the NYT or TNR but passed it up since I didn’t have time to compare all the itineraries. Not so Mary K, who asks the not unreasonable question of how Fred’s planning to shock the world in Iowa by working half days when Huck and Mitt are way ahead and in full-court-press mode. It’s as though he’s still following that “Internet campaign” model he had initially planned to use as a substitute for real-world events, except (a) he abandoned that long ago and (b) it never would have worked given the tiny fraction of Internet users who are interested enough in politics to pay regular attention to campaigns.

What gives? I’ve never really bought the idea that he’s lazy but I’m out of explanations. Although this is kind of funny eight months removed.