Is Fred Thompson Unhealthy?

The more I think about it, the more Michael Crowley's curiosity (see the update) about Thompson's health might be more of an issue than the public's been led to believe. Thompson did announce last spring that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma several years ago, but assured everyone that it was in remission. He's 65 years old, which is not terribly old, but is certainly not young. Maybe Thompson's throat-clearing can be attributed to a wicked case of post-nasal drip, but it certainly seems out of place.

What this kind of speculation does do is offer a pretty striking alternative to the "Fred is lazy" narrative. Maybe his delay into the race was caused by health concerns? Maybe ho-hum performances at the Michigan debates and the Values Voters Summit today are literally symptomatic of much bigger health concerns? Maybe his disappearance and cancellation of a campaign event in New Hampshire last week was for health reasons?

Being "lazy" is one thing -- Reagan used to joke about being awakened to address a national emergency even if he was in a cabinet meeting -- but being unhealthy is a deal breaker with a lot of voters. This is all just gross speculation for the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a much bigger issue if the Thompson Camp doesn't get out in front of it and quash it as soon as possible. They might be able to do some short term damage control with some crack rapid response work, but the only way to end persistent rumors of this nature is for Thompson himself to start bringing his A game.

MORE: Much more here.