Tommy Thompson May Run for President

Feel the excitement! Wisconsin's former governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush, Tommy Thompson, may be jumping into the race for president in '08. One of the biggest problems Thompson will face going into this is the fact that the average american is asking, "Tommy who?"

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Thompson, 65, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin and U.S. Health and Human Services Department secretary. He was governor from 1987 to 2001, longer than anyone in state history, and led HHS during President Bush's first term, from 2001 to 2005. A lawyer and business consultant, Thompson has a hand in several private-sector pursuits, many in health care."

Thompson thinks that Iowa will be key to his campaign strategy. "Governor Thompson is a great fit for Iowa," veteran political operative Steve Grubbs said Friday. "He's a mainstream conservative and he understands the Midwest. . . . And he's a winner, and Republicans are looking for a winner." Doesn't that last part pretty much go without saying?

Here's what got me; "Grubbs touted Thompson as one of the nation's 'foremost experts on health care and renewable fuels.'"

Dang, I've lived in Wisconsin all my life and this is the first I'd heard of his expertise in either subject. He didn't really do a lot about renewables as governor -- pretty much all he did was build prisons and roads... Mostly prisons. Prisons have hospitals, so I guess he must've learned something there. On the other hand, the Bush administration's done such a lousy job of dealing with HIV/AIDS that Mr. Health Expert Tommy was booed at several international conferences. There's 'being an expert' and 'being a well-respected expert.'

Not that it matters. I don't think there's much danger of a President Tommy Thompson.

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