President Arthur Branch

Fred Thompson was recently asked, "What job do you think is harder, playing the President on TV or in real life?" Thompson responded, "I don't think either is very hard."

The actor and Republican presidential candidate, best known for his role as District Attorney Arthur Branch on the television show Law & Order, is hot on the campaign trail selling Americans just want they want...a lethal dose of delusion. Americans would much rather bury their heads in the proverbial sand than hear the truth at this point. The truth is far too painful, the solution far too drastic. Thompson gives one hope in the "TV Dad." He's out to prove that all is right in the world, that America is still the greatest nation on the planet. We've done nothing wrong and everything will be ok. We are not the America you see on TV.

According to Thompson, we have the strongest health care system in the world. Why is it then, Mr. Thompson, that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation on Earth lacking universal health care access? Why are we ranked 41st in lowest infant mortality rate and 45th in total life expectancy (CIA World Factbook)? The World Health Organization ranks the U.S. 37th overall behind likes of Chile, Costa Rica and Saudi Arabia. We are not the America you see on TV.

Fred Thompson is the guy America so desperately wants to trust in a time when he just might be the most dangerous man for the job. His sheer disregard for reality and unshakeable positivity coupled with that good-old-boy southern vernacular has him in the position to make his TV dreams a reality. President on TV, president of the United States of America (in the real world), it's all the same to Thompson.

Reagan has already laid the groundwork; we've seen this sort of thing before. Thompson is often compared to Reagan, the man who sold us a Hollywood version of politics almost 30 years ago. In the wake of the Vietnam War Reagan had America believing that it was as badass as ever. As dreamy and idealistic as Reagan was, he at least kept one foot in reality. Thompson, on the other hand, doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Reality, that is. The less we know of reality the better. After all, what you don’t know can't hurt you, right? We are not the America we see on TV.

Sure, art informs life to a certain extent. But have we really gotten to the point where we can't see TV from reality? Are our next four years going to play out like a made-for-TV movie? If Fred Thompson has his way, he'll write the script. Or better yet, he'll let you write you own. I'm not holding my breath for a Hollywood ending to this one.