You'd think Fred Thompson would pick a more presidential venue to finally, finally announce than Jay Leno's easy chair. But I guess if he'd done it in Iowa or New Hampshire, he wouldn't have had lights or makeup or a studio band to give him a fanfare. The campaign said he was going to announce online today but I guess he just couldn't resist the lure of Jay's softballs. Sound bite: "I decided it was time for me to step up." Because Thompson is jumping in after the Republican debate and got some grief for that -- fraidycat, fraidycat -- the campaign also invited questions via blogs to be answered today. But they're friendly blogs, the geeky equivalent of an appearance with Jay. Here's his preannouncement commercial. Cuz every TV show needs some on-air promotion: