Checking in on a dead guy.

This is going to leave a mark.

Fred Thompson, the most popular candidate/non-candidate in the GOP, the man who has Republican bloggers all atwitter, was a 30-year-old lawyer during Watergate. He was the guy who asked Butterfield about the White House tapes that unraveled the Nixon administration.

But those tapes are coming back to bite Thompson in the ass.

In spite of his public image as a bulldog chomping at the hindquarters of truth, it looks like he was more of a Republican poodle willing to cooperate with Nixon's criminals.

For instance, Thompson was the stooge who tipped off the White House that the Senate committee knew about the tapes.

When Haldeman told Nixon about Thompson's appointment, Nixon said, "Oh shit, that kid," and called Thompson "dumb as hell."

"Well, we're stuck with him," Haldeman said.

Nixon's lawyer, J. Fred Buzhardt, said, "We've got a pretty good rapport with Fred Thompson," but Nixon expressed concern that Thompson was not "very smart."

"Not extremely so," Buzhardt agreed.

"But he's friendly," Nixon said.

"But he's friendly," Buzhardt said. "...Thompson [is] most cooperative, feeling more Republican every day ... willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have be as a Republican increasingly."

This was during the Watergate investigation. Yes, Fred Thompson, the GOP savior, not only is "dumb as hell" but also a Republican tool during a Constitutional crisis.

Thanks, Fred. You're just what America needs.

On TV.