No Diner-To-Diner?

Charlie Cook, an easy-going, slow-talking Southerner himself, has doubts that Fred Thompson can really wiggle out of door-to-door, diner-to-diner campaigning so easily:

For folks that have been around politics for a while, statements and strategies such as these are flashing lights and warning signals that these folks think they’ve found a shortcut to the White House. What a truly ridiculous notion. No amount of name ID can replace one on one contact with voters, especially in early primary and caucus states. Campaigns are about pressing the flesh. While new forms of technology may help to increase the ways in which candidates communicate with voters, and the frequency in which they do so, nothing beats in person appearances. Spoiled voters in early states demand face to face campaigning. Furthermore, any candidate who has the slightest reputation for having a less than superhuman work ethic has to approach any presidential campaign with either an inhuman activity level or something that will pass for extraordinary, lest that tag both stick and hurt. The trail to the Presidency is not an easy one, and any individual who shies away from rigorous work should seriously reconsider entering the race.