Fred And The Young Wife

In reading today's edition of the New York Post, America's great newspaper, I stumbled on a story about the newest Republican presidential candidate, Fred Thompson and his wife Jeri. Make that his 40 year old wife! Now, I am not a prude, but Mr. Thompson is 64 years old. And that, my friends is a 24 year difference and that makes Mr. Thompson defiantly old enough to be her father.
According to the article http://nypost.com the future Mrs. Thompson was making the moves on Mr. Thompson when he was a senator from Tennessee. At that time, Mr. Thompson was divorced from his first wife since 1985, so it is not like he dumped one for the other. He was on the market, so to speak, for a while.
But, there is still a segment of the American populace that will not look at a clearly 64 year old looking, albeit ruggedly handsome, man with a 40 year-old trophy wife that has been one of the driving forces behind his late entry into the GOP presidential fray. I, for one, am not one of them. But. . .
Will there be anyone to dare ask the question? What is a 64 year old doing with a 40 year old wife, whom he married in 2002 and has two very young children?
The only reason I bring it up is that if any GOP opponent would use that in anyway as a last act of desperation, and Mr. Thompson is in fact the Republican nominee, does one not think that the Democrats will do the same and only viciously? Absolutely!
In an election that has the potential to be as close as 2000 and 2004, there can be no skeletons in any one's closet or even something that should be innocuous as the marital state of Mr. Thompson and the considerable age difference between he and Mrs. Thompson.
I hope that it does not become an issue because it would show the other side to be in sheer panic and bush-league desperation.
Here is the final analysis.
If Mr. Thompson is the nominee, I will vote for him. He will be superior to anything that the Democrats put up unless they go to the graveyard to dig up one of their heroes of the past such as Roosevelt, Truman or JFK.
I hope that issues will drive this election, but you never know. Remember, it was a last minute smear regarding George W. Bush and a drunk driving conviction in the 1970's that clearly cost him the popular vote and nearly the presidency. At least if this should become an issue, it will be right out front and no last minute smear job.