My gut feeling is that Fred Thompson's come-from-behind "strategery" is akin to that of "dark bay colt" Street Smart at yesterday's Kentucky Derby. As his jockey said, his voice atremble, "I've got all the faith in the world in this horse":

Street Sense simply got it done Saturday, smartly picking his way through traffic to explode from way at the back of a 20-horse field at The Kentucky Derby.

Why is it that French women of a certain age look so darned much better than American women of the same cohort? (On average, of course).

Fred is probably waiting for the rest to crack up so he can glide by without opposition, only to sink like a rock when he actually has to face the public.

I would take Maureen Dowd's statement more seriously if it was made by someone else. She is a careless journalist who seems incapable of an objective analysis of anything. She is the Ann Coulter of the left. If you're not familiar with the term 'dowdification', Google it.

French doesn't even have a word for chauvinism.

I think the US does have an unreasonable problem with a woman as president but the connection is indirect. We have put much greater value on military service, for a variety of reasons, than most European countries. Until recently, that's been closed to women. So the odds are stacked against women from the start. Plus, the military bias shapes campaign rhetoric in ways not found elsewhere.

None of that presents an impossible obstacle but it changes the odds dramatically.

Thus, I think Hillary is smart to have chosen the Armed Services Committee and to have positioned herself as a hawk. The problem is that no one thinks she's sincere.

Actually, chauvinism comes from the French "chauvinisme". Here's a note from Wikipedia re it's origins.

"The term is derived from the undocumented Nicolas Chauvin, whose legend made him out to be a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte whose fanatical zeal for his Emperor induced him, though wounded seventeen times in the Napoleonic Wars, to continue nevertheless to fight for France. It is claimed he yelled in the Battle of Waterloo when the French were finally defeated: "The Old Guard dies but does not surrender!", implying blind and unquestioned zeal to one's country [or other group of reference].

The origin and early usage indicate that chauvinisme was coined to describe excessive nationalism, and the original French term retains this meaning today. The term entered public use due to a satirical treatment of Chauvin in the French play La Cocarde Tricolore (The Tricolore Cockade)."

As for sexism, it translates as sexism.

The sexism directed against Hillary Clinton often takes the form of questioning her femininity, sexuality, and attractiveness. (Google "Hillary Clinton, lesbian" to get a sense of the discussion.) The idea of a woman as competent as Clinton is apparently so disconcerting to some people that they dismiss her as a "real woman".

Well, I found this in a Reuters article:

"Only 16 percent of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are women. Compared to countries of similar wealth, one would expect 30 to 50 percent, Reynolds said."

If their factoid is correct, then that suggests that *something* is going on here.

The title of the article is "U.S. system trips up women seeking presidency."

Remind me to use winking smiley-face icons from now on.

"On what basis is Dowd making this assertion?"

Why none whatsoever, just like her other assertions. JE, above, she is not "of the left."

"Will Thompson only be the flavor of the month until he announces?"

Yes.

This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions...

Two big differences between Thompson and McCain:

1. As Kaus points out, Thompson appears to have a different view of i---------n (Scroll down to the 1:06am post).

2. Thompson will turn 65 this year. McCain will turn 71 two weeks later.

Sorry, Paul. If I'd taken another second to think about your comment, I might have recognized it as sarcasm rather than seriousness, but it's not always easy to catch that in posted comments. You, too, might have taken a second to question what you read; if you had, my take might have led you to question the efficacy of your original post rather than sneering at mine . . . or perhaps to say something substantive w/ regard to the issue at hand.

How does Dowd know how neurotic America is about electing a woman president?

Where I'm from, throwaway jokes aren't meant to have efficacy. But it's not the end of the world when someone doesn't get it on the first try.

Ever hear Chris Matthews on Hardball comparing Hillary to the ex-wife from hell? Ever hear any of his guests tell him that's stupid and irresponsible? Enough said.