He didn’t look very busy while the debates were going on.
... Ironically that same night he was in California with Jay Leno, where many more people saw him and heard him than if he had been at the debate.
And nobody (besides hardcore political junkies) was paying any attention, either.
Something interesting happened last night. My lady and I went out to have a few snacks and sip a few drinks at the home of one of her friends. This friend is a liberal (she's for Edwards) but when I answered her question about who I was for, she couldn't find a bad thing to say about Thompson. Another liberal friend there opined that "no Republican presidential candidate has a chance" in 2008, but I said that the eventual nominee would distance himself from Bush successfully, and she didn't dispute that.
One thing that I was really impressed by was that these two liberal New York women both detested Hillary. If it comes down to screeching Shrillary vs. folksy Fred, even liberal women who you'd figure are Hillary's base are not going to vote for her.