Fred Thompson is Running!

Thompsons announcement today that he has a mild, treatable and non-life threatening form of Lymphoma is nothing short of an announcement of intention to seek the Republican nomination from POTUS.

It's known in the business as "getting ahead" of the story. This little bit of house cleaning is setting the stage for a formal announcement within the next 30 days, probably on Leno.

In the Cavuto interview Fred does his best to asuage any fears that his health condition would in any way effect his life or ability to "do his job". Folks, that job is President of the United States. If he weren't running why would he jump through these hoops? The simple answer is he wouldn't.

What few doubts I had as to his intentions are now gone. Fred Thompson's campaign started in earnest today.

Several blogs appear to agree, Captains Quarters says this:

UPDATE IV: I’ve made a few calls on my lunch break, and here’s the scoop. Fred’s had this for almost three years now, and he’s not missed any work or slowed down at all during that time. He and his wife had a child during this period, which gives an indication that he has plenty of stamina; after all, shooting schedules for weekly television programs are not known to be kind to cast and crew.

Why is he announcing this now? Word is that he wants to make sure that his supporters feel comfortable with the issue before proceeding, and he’s interested in the commentary. He’s a straight shooter and he didn’t want this to be a surprise during a campaign — he’s laying his cards on the table. For Fred supporters, that thought process should be very encouraging.

Update: Looky here:

The latest LA Times/Bloomberg poll is out and Thompson is SECOND!

Guiliani 29%
Thompson 15%
McCain 12%
Romney 8%