The draft movement for conservative actor and former Senator, Fred Thompson, has launched its website under the refreshingly simply URL -- Fred08.com.

The draft campaign for Fred Thompson (insert law-and-order.wav file), is currently the top buzz-worthy topic among conservative bloggers that I talk to. In fact, a quick look at the monthly GOP Bloggers Straw Poll shows, remarkably, two draft candidates leading the pack with Thompson soaring:

F. Thompson 1197 (34.4%)
Gingrich 478 (13.7%)
Giuliani 438 (12.6%)
Romney 436 (12.5%)
Tancredo 357 (10.3%)
Hunter 184 (5.3%)
McCain 128 (3.7%)
(none) 100 (2.9%)
(As of 5:11 PM on April 5, 2007.)

These results affirm what I'm hearing on the ground. But, some have noted a trend among front-runners in these straw polls which doesn't seem to last very long. Sort of a "flavor-of-the-month" pattern.

I've been told by people close to the draft movement (and other insiders I trust) that Fred Thompson, if in, will run a true Internet purist campaign that even Joe Trippi would be proud of. That's good news for the entire field (and our Party collectively) because it'll force the rest of the guys to wake up and smell the Revolution.

So, back to to the website, and my thoughts on it.

Let's dig in...

First and foremost, the website yields nothing remarkable to keep me coming back day after day. The draft campaign tells me that I can expect to see a new blog within the next few minutes and they are busy incorporating several RSS feeds to make my life easier to receive press releases, updates, and blog items. Points and porridge will likely be awarded when I see those items, but until then, I could be waiting as long as I've waited (still waiting) for the McCain camp to launch its blog.

Second, I like the fact that they're yielding some real estate for links to YouTube, myspace, and Facebook. Of course, like you, my biggest complaint is that most of the Socnet links are buried at the bottom of the page and rather than link directly to their intended profiles, they simply point to the homepage of the respective site, forcing the user to organically search for the profile or group. This is a quick fix but it's kind of like getting in to a new car and noticing that the headlamps are burned out. What gives?

The site navigation is simple enough. They're not using sliding effects which drive me crazy. Points there.

I also like the online petition. That's a smart way to build up an e-mail list. It caught my eye immediately after that all too familiar YouTube embeddable player did.

My biggest complaint is how poor the YouTube video on the homepage is. You literally have to wait 15 seconds before it gets started. Frankly, I don't have the patience and I clicked it off before it started. How many others will do the same? They should toss it overboard and replace it with a video under two minutes.

On the left-hand side, they have an "audio" section which links up to print transcripts and MP3 files posted at National Review Online. They also have a "video" section which links up to YouTube videos. Not bad.

Overall, this is a good serious, first attempt and I expect to see a lot more. It's obviously difficult to run an effective eCampaign when you don't exactly have a candidate you can corner with a camera to make solid YouTube snips, but the buzz abounding, the signs of Socnet life, and the promise of a blog have me scratching my head, asking, "Could this be the beginning of the Republican Party's Howard Dean moment?"