Confidential to Fred Thompson: If you get this message, call home, or K Street--or some damn place where they give a dang what's come of you

Gosh, it seems like just a few months ago that Fred Thompson, late of TV's Law and Order, was going to shuffle his way serenely to the GOP presidential nomination. And then he, like, disappeared from the face of the planet.

If you've grown nostalgic, our pal Al Kamen of the Washington Post has just the book for you:

Lose One for the Gipper

A book we didn't get to read on time:

"The Fred Factor: How Fred Thompson May Change the Face of the '08 Campaign." This nifty little gem was written last spring by Steve Gill, a Nashville radio talk-show host and chief political analyst for the ABC television news affiliate there, back when the former senator was pondering whether to jump into the race. Thompson announced in September, flamed out in January.

But Gill, repeatedly comparing Thompson to Ronald Reagan, writes that "Reaganesque Fred Dalton Thompson may be the only potential candidate who can prevent Hillary Rodham Clinton from being" president. There's also a useful and historic 31-page section on where Thompson stands on the issues. The back-cover blurb says the book "reveals the man behind the role, a man who could very well be the next President of the United States."

Or not.

Still, the book ranks No. 543,699 on Amazon's sales list. We'd loan our copy, but it's autographed by the author.

No late word on Sam Brownback, but we assume he's back in the Senate filling his usual role as a disgrace to human intelligence and knowledge.

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