Fred never wanted to be president, only veep!

Fox News's Carl Cameron reports that Fred Thompson's dearly departed presidential campaign actually began as a trial balloon for a possible vice-presidential bid, then spiraled out of control as the intensity of the "Draft Fred" movement took Thompson and his people by surprise:

[Back in March 2007,] several insiders told me OFF THE RECORD that [the murmurs of a possible Thompson presidential bid were] largely a trial ballon to guage his popularity and float his name as a possible vice presidential nominee. I was sworn to silence.

Those insiders have now lifted the conditions on our conversations. From March to August of 07 -- through postponed announcement days, staff changes, firings, resignations and general disarray -- the Thompson camp was stunned by the incredibly positive response and didn’t really know how to manage it. The trial balloon soared mighty high and he found himself being dragged into a race that he was not even sure how to run.

If true, that explains a lot. (Hat tip: Top of the Ticket.)