Gee whilikers! Wasn't that just "authentic, folksy" Fred I-Play-One-On-TV Thompson in that pickup?

Finishing his talk, Thompson shakes a few hands, then walks out with the rest of the crowd to the red pickup truck he made famous during his 1994 Senate campaign. My friend stands talking with her colleagues as the senator is driven away by a blond, all-American staffer. A few minutes later, my friend gets into her car to head home. As she pulls up to the stop sign at the parking lot exit, rolling up to the intersection is Senator Thompson, now behind the wheel of a sweet silver luxury sedan. He gives my friend a slight nod as he drives past. Turning onto the main road, my friend passes the school's small, side parking area. Lo and behold: There sits the abandoned red pickup, along with the all-American staffer.

Chris Matthews: "But it was refreshing to me to see a politician with a cigar....he seems like the real thing to me."

Hey, Chris,does Paris Hilton seem like the real thing to you, too?