Turns out I’m not the only one who thought it’d be a good idea.

Fred Thompson will forcefully defend the selection of Sarah Palin tonight in a speech Republicans are characterizing as “red meat.” He will argue that the feeding frenzy over Palin’s is the result of “panic” from the Democrat-friendly mainstream media.

“What a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is. She is from a small town, with small town values, but that’s not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family. Let’s be clear, the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful, reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment.”…

The bulk of Thompson’s speech will be a testimonial on behalf of John McCain, his character and his leadership. John McCain has “the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders.”

He’ll hit Obama on abortion, too. I’m under the weather, so to feed your insatiable appetite for all things Palin, I lazily offer you this video of her taking on two opponents in the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial debate. I only watched a few minutes but that was long enough to explode the left’s caricature of her as an airheaded imbecile. Click the image to watch.

Update: A sneak preview of the speech from Human Events: Palin was a “masterstroke,” says Fred.