As a special morning present for you, our loyal readers, I give to you the gift of nearly 7 minutes of Fred! with Jay Leno last night. This is 4 minutes more than HotAir gave its readers. Take that, Allah! Some Fred-Heads are glimpsing the abyss after this appearance. Me, I thought he did well, then again, a) What do I know; and b) I’m not expecting him to walk on water.

He delivers his prepared lines marvelously, much better than anyone else in the race on either side. When forced to go extemporaneous, he does less well. The dodge of the Iranian/Lieberman issue made him sound a lot like a politician. I know Lieberman made his comments about Iran on “Face the Nation” and that’s the Sunday show that no one watches, but Fred’s answer was still unsatisfactory. If he’s going to get in it to win it, mushy-mouthed rhetoric on red-meat issues like Iran won’t cut it.

The energy level may also be an issue, but after eight tumultuous years, the country may be in the mood for a soothing presence who reminds us of spending lazy Sundays on the front porch whittling and chewin’ tobaccy before having to head back to K Street the next day. Isn’t that sort of what Peggy Noonan writes every week?

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