Following up on yesterday's unconfirmed report, Mike McWherter makes it official [1]:

"I want to continue the dialogue on how we change the direction in our country for the future of our kids and grandkids. Forming an exploratory committee is a key step in my own decision-making process." He added: "This process will be brief, but deliberate. Running for U.S. Senate is a big decision. I want to make sure it's the right one, for me and my family."

I just checked, and MikeMcWherter.com was registered in May 2007 under a proxy. I wonder if he was waiting to see what Thompson would do, thinking that a tag team of Lamar! and Ol' Fred would get more GOP dead-enders to the polls than an anti-gay marriage or a free-guns-for-everybody amendment. Maybe McWherter is picking up signals that Thompson isn't all that and may not even be on the ticket, and that Democrats are ready to vote this time because they learned from Ford v. Corker that if we stay home they win. Or something. UPDATE: A challenge from the local GOP/Freddie booster club [2]. Are y'all going to take that?