Current actor and former senator Fred Thompson is strongly considering running for president as a Republican.

This can only be seen as good news for Democrats. But it’s also good news for Republicans.

The same reason for both: It’s a reflection of how unhappy Republican voters are with their current choices. John McCain is being dragged into oblivion by the war; Rudy Guiliani and his wife have been married six times between them; Mitt Romney flip-flops more than a dolphin at Sea World.

In that context, Thompson is as strong as anyone.

But his entry wouldn’t address the real issue: Everyone hates President Bush. And no Republican presidential candidate dares acknowledge that truism.

The GOP needs an insurgent candidate—which the party traditionally frowns upon, preferring to anoint the tried-and-true—who can position himself as reclaiming the conservative mantle. And that ain’t Fred Thompson; he is an inside-the-Beltway figure if ever there was one.

So I encourage Thompson to get into the race. He won’t be prepared for it, not even close, and for any devoted politics-watcher, the inevitable train wrecks are always entertaining.