Fred Thompson wants to have some serious debates. I doubt if anyone will take him up on it, though.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Mark Steyn is frustrated with Fred:

Every time I see a Fred policy plan, he seems to have by far the best ideas, and the necessary zeal for reform, on taxes, Social Security and much else. But every time you see him in these TV debates he has the listless air of a bored grandparent at a dreary school play.

...What's the strategy here? Why does he have great ideas but no campaign?

If the Republicans would get their act together and put on their own debates, instead of depending on CNN and the like to invite them. They might avoid scenes like the recently televised character assassination session.

What a farce.

It would be great if they self-organized.

They could have even done it at the CNN debate. The candidates could have changed the subject. They could have said things like "you know, I want to mention health care. None of the questions have been about health care. In the 15 seconds I have left, I want to say the following about health care..." but they didn't.

Even if there were rules the candidates had to follow, they could have just broken the rules, ideally as a group, or individually, just as when McCain ran out of time, he kept on talking until he had finished expressing a complete thought.

They could have conspired to change the rules completely, and had a serious conversation, or whatever they wanted, and CNN wouldn't have taken away their airtime - CNN would have been thrilled with the novelty.

But the same instincts that lead the candidates to rely on CNN also prevent them from self-organizing for their own debates or rebelling, as a group or individually, at the sponsored debates.

They could have even done it at the CNN debate. The candidates could have changed the subject. They could have said things like "you know, I want to mention health care. None of the questions have been about health care. In the 15 seconds I have left, I want to say the following about health care..." but they didn't.

Even if there were rules the candidates had to follow, they could have just broken the rules, ideally as a group, or individually, just as when McCain ran out of time, he kept on talking until he had finished expressing a complete thought.

Do you have any ethics? Finishing a point is a standard debate allowance. Ignoring questions, even planted ones, is not a debate. Breaking agreements, in the manner you describe, is dishonorable.

Since you had to ask whether I have any ethics, I may not have done a good job of describing what I was proposing, but I was suggesting a class of strategies that could have been both honorable and refreshing.

One honorable way to do this is to simply ask if the other participant(s) would agree to a rules change. Less formally, they could simply say "if you/everyone agrees, lets have a back-and-forth about this."

The best moments in nearly every presidential "debate" have occurred when the candidates step outside the straightjacket of the current format and actually engage each other instead of the moderator or questioner.

My other point was that if someone breaks CNN's stated rules for a conversation or forum, CNN will be fine with it. CNN would have loved to have hosted the forum where the King of Spain told Chavez to shut up.

If Rudy had suddenly slugged Romney in the face, the networks, all of them, would have been in heaven. If the candidates had just turned to each other and had a thoughtful conversation with each other, I think CNN would still have been happy. In both circumstances, CNN's name would be forever be mentioned in conjunction with the most memorable debate in recent US history.

One honorable way to do this is to simply ask if the other participant(s) would agree to a rules change. Less formally, they could simply say "if you/everyone agrees, lets have a back-and-forth about this."

Isn't this what Fred is doing? Particularly, he's not ad-hoc trying to change the rules real-time, but ask ahead of time to setup a better program?

Yup. I was agreeing. I guess that makes me a ditto-head!

Forget about channeling Ronald Reagan. When Fred Thompson started the race, people were looking for Arthur Branch.

I remember when Fred Thompson was still in the Senate, he looked so handsome when he was Jack McCoy on to the carpet, but he looked so tired and ragged when he was then chairing a Senate hearing.

Maybe the Senator should hire Dick Wolf as a campaign consultant.