Even though he spoke the words much earlier during the Tonight Show’s taping, just moments ago, Americans heard it for the first time. “I am running for President of the United States,” Fred told Jay Leno.
If the audience in NBC’s Burbank studios represented a cross-section of the US, then Fred’s announcement is a welcome one. The audience went wild.
I got the feeling Fred was a little tight just around the time he said he’s running. He developed a distracting habit of slapping his thigh with his right hand at the end of every sentence, audibly enough that I missed the final word of several thoughts. Hell, I’d be nervous, too.
His sense of humor is perfect. “It’s a lot harder to get on the Tonight Show than to get into a presidential debate,” he said explaining why he skipped the New Hampshire debate.
After the break, Fred talked about the war on terror. He said the kinds of things that, I think, we all wish President Bush had said and would say. And balances his statements wonderfully. When Jay Leno speculated as to why so many people around the world seem to hate America, Fred reminded him that part of that comes with being the most powerful and richest country in the history of the world. He went on [paraphrasing], “I think we’re more unpopular than we need to be. But . . . our people have spilled more blood fought more battles for the freedom and liberty of other people than anyone else in the world, so I won’t apologize of our country.” Thuderous applause.
Now, go watch the video at Fred08.com. It’s you duty.
The Discerning Texan questions the venue Fred chose to announce.
UPDATE It appears Fred’s servers are overwhelmed by the demand for the video. But don’t give up! This is great news. Everybody wants more of Fred.
UPDATE CNN.com has looping video of the Fred ‘08 busses parked outside of a building. This excellent streamcasting, people, the whole reason Al Gore invented the Internets.