Hugh Hewitt may care deeply about the first 10 Commandments, but apparently his devotion doesn't extend to Reagan's famous 11th, because he continues to trash Republican presidential candidates in an ongoing effort to boost Mitt Romney.

Hugh's latest installment is another utterly predictable harangue of Fred Thompson:

Hillary is running as hard as is possible, and she won't be beaten from the couch on the set of the Tonight Show. It will take an extraordinary effort ot (sic) hold on to Colorado, Ohio and Virginia, and the candidate who shows the GOP that they can sustain the energy necessary to practically live in those three states as well as the four of the upper midwest --Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota-- is the candidate with the best chance to turn back the Clintons and their hordes from the lefty steppes. The big seven won't be won with television ads, but by sustained efforts involving hundreds of events over the next 14 months. Rudy shows the same sort of energy as Romney on most occasions, the sort of energy which is absolutely necessary to counter the Clinton push, but laid back Fred? Skipping tomorrow night's FOX debate is just another indication that Team Thompson hasn't figured out the dynamics of '07-'08 yet. Running a Rose Garden campaign when you don't own the Rose Garden is a sure way to signal an indifference to the realities of the long campaign ahead, and naivete about the Clintons.

Normally Hugh ridicules those who buy into such simplistic MSM narratives. Yet now he's the one trotting out platitudes like Clinton "won't be beaten from the couch on the set of the Tonight Show" and actually trying to argue with a straight face that skipping tonight's night's GOP debate is somehow consequential in the grand scheme of things.

I agree with Jay's comment yesterday: Thompson's biggest sin thus far has been mismanaging the media's expectations, and letting the MSM - and folks like Hugh who are sympathetic to rival campaigns - cast Fred and his operation as under performing and/or in disarray.

The reality is that all of this chatter will be moot starting tomorrow when Thompson hits the trail in Iowa. Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding: Fred will either perform on the hustings and connect with voters (in which case he will probably rise in the polls) or he won't (in which case he will probably decline in the polls).

The Thompson campaign understands that 1) all the beltway bloviating of the past few months is irrelevant and 2) the real deal begins Thursday. Communications Director Todd Harris acknowledged the importance of Fred's official debut in forming a lasting first impression, telling Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner yesterday, "We have to have a good announcement tour. There's no question about that."

So let's wait and see what happens. I will be there in Iowa watching Fred closely along with the rest of the national media, and if he's lazy or gets tired or is off his game, you're going to hear about it.

And as for the schedule, well, it's about as whirlwind as possible: 10 events in 5 days covering 3 states and some 3,000 miles. That doesn't sound lazy to me.