Appearing on this morning’s edition of Today, Republican candidate Fred Thompson let anchor Lester Holt hold it over questions about Thompson’s viability as a contender for the Republican nomination and rumors that Iowa could have been the end of the road for his campaign:

HOLT: You were the victim of some rumors on the subject of your viability and questions that you would drop out. How much of that hurt you?

THOMPSON: Well, let’s talk about that. It did hurt me and the media lapped it up. It was put out by another campaign, it made no sense at all —

HOLT: Which campaign?

THOMPSON: — it was two days before the election, when I was coming strong, and the media took it up, and spread the rumor, and probably cost me two or three points in Iowa. So the lesson there is not, you know, politicians being politicians, the lesson there is that the news media really ought to check these stories out and come to me and ask me and take my word for it.

HOLT: Senator, a fair shot against the news meda, but what candidate were you mentioning that put that out there?

THOMPSON: I’m not gonna…I owe you nothing, frankly, in that regard, and I’m not going to say any more about it right now.

So Thompson wants the news media to come to him to essentially “check the facts” when it reports something someone else says, but when he makes a claim and the news media asks him to elaborate or provide any details about accusations he makes about “another campaign,” he expects a free pass to dodge the question?

Sorry, Fred. Double standards do little to make you an attractive candidate for president. You want to make an accusation that another campaign spread the rumor? Fine. Which campaign? Where are the facts? Where is your proof? If you think a campaign isn’t playing fair, don’t you think you owe it to the American people to make it clear who’s trying to skew the numbers unfairly?

Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt — and then some — and say that these alleged “rumors” cost him four points in Iowa: at best, that takes him out of a tie for third place with McCain and has him third alone. Thompson (and McCain) got 13% of the votes in the Iowa Caucus, while Romney came away with 25% and Huckabee led with 34%. Taking those four points away from either Huckabee or Romney still makes no difference in who came out in the top three slots; it certainly wouldn’t have given Thompson a win. So what are all the sour grapes about, anyway?

And he can’t even really complain that no one bothered to ask him about the truth of the reports from sources apparently in or connected with his campaign: here’s an example of a report that did quote the man himself, in which he this time complained that the media was jumping on rumors because they could see the momentum he was building.

Wait a second, Fred…I’m confused: a second ago, you said it was another campaign working against you. Now, it’s the media who’s working against you because you’re the popular choice? If the media and another campaign are working together, why not out them all and save democracy in one fell swoop!

If Thompson thinks a candidate in this presidential race who actually is able to build momentum in a sea of unimpressive choices isn’t news, perhaps he should check with Barack Obama or Mike Huckabee: I suspect they might give him an argument on that point based on the attention their campaigns have gotten even before their wins in Iowa.

I guess I expect too much of a presidential candidate: I expect him to play as fairly and be as honest as he seems to expect everyone else to be.

Silly me.