While I’m amused by the New York Times anecdote about Fred Thompson asking an audience for applause, I don’t trust it or the rest of the story and you shouldn’t either. Given the tone of Adam Nagourney’s report, there’s good reason to be suspicious that he is fitting the facts to the “Fred is lazy” narrative, especially if you know about the horrors of the “Gore is a liar” coverage of 1999-2000.

Update 10/8 8:38 PM: Via commenter TCW, Thompson’s request for applause is on YouTube and appears to be legit:

I remain suspicious about narrative-driven reporting on Thompson, however.