Not Particularly Interested? UPDATED for context

UPDATE: The full context of email and it's impact or lack of such at the bottom

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Oops. This is the worst time to be making this sort of gaffe, and what a gaffe!

"I'm not particularly interested in running for president," the former senator said at a campaign event in Burlington when challenged by a voter over his desire to be commander-in-chief.

"But I think I'd make a good president," Thompson continued. "I have the background, capability, and concern to do this and I'm doing it for the right reasons."

On the surface, I agree with the substance, and it is a refreshing bit of honesty to put someone up that is not guided by pure (or even partial) ambition. But his qualities of background, capability, and concern are not enough. Not nearly enough. Because that's not what separates you from this field. Those qualities, capable, concerned, etc., describe every candidate in the race.

But what is going to kill him here, is concerns about electability.

I've been pounding this for what seems like forever, but here it is again. The GOP is on the verge of losing control of the entire government for the first time since 1994. Their best chance lies in nominating a good candidate for president, but one that can take it to Hillary Clinton, fight and win.

With this statement, Fred Thompson doesn't look like a fighter, he doesn't look like a winner, he looks like someone who didn't have anything to do this year and said, sure why not? This is going to get a some play in the media and the blogosphere, but not as much play if Thompson were more of a threat. What this does is help kill any hope of what now must be an extremely late surge for Iowa and New Hampshire.

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Update: Erick at Redstate posts a larger portion of the quoted remarks which show something different:

The first place, I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I wouldn't be doing this. I grew up in very modest circumstances. I left government and I and my family have made sacrifices to be sitting here today. I haven't had any income for a long time because I figured to be clean, you've got to cut everything off. I was doing speaking engagements and I had a contract to do a tv show. I had a contract with ABC radio...and so forth. A man would have to be a total fool to do all those things and to be leaving his family which is not a joyful thing if he didn''t want to do it.

I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it. I want the people to have the best president they can have.