Thompson v. Doyle? I would pay to see that

Now, I did get new glasses today, so I can't be entirely sure that I'm reading this right:

According to [former Governor Tommy] Thompson, people such as Elizabeth Dole, the GOP senator from North Carolina who now leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged him to run this fall against Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, who is seeking a fourth term but has yet to draw a Republican opponent.

Thompson said he was more inclined to try to oust [current Governor Jim] Doyle and return to the job he held for 14 years, longer than any governor in state history. Two Republicans, U.S. Rep. Mark Green and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, already are vying to go mano a mano against Doyle. Thompson, in answer to a question, said he had not discussed his potential candidacy with the two. Nor, he says, does his interest reflect on how he imagines they would do.

To hear him tell it, it's vox populi fueling his gubernatorial ambitions. "Walking through the airports in Milwaukee and Madison and La Crosse and Green Bay, people are saying, 'Please come back and run for governor. We need you back to right the ship of state,' " he said.

Let me get this straight: Governor Doyle comes in to office in 2003 facing a $2.8 billion deficit and balanced the budget without significant tax increases and without a tobacco settlement to cash in. Now the man who is primarily responsible for that deficit wants to jump in and face Doyle down? I'd love to see that debate, since the answer to every question posed to Doyle would just be, "How big will the deficit be next time, Tommy?"

Also, I think it's important to note that Katherine M. Skiba's only source for this article--including the vox populi hogwash--is Tommy Thompson himself. "Yeah, yeah," he says, "everbody wants me ta run for sumpin'. They loves them some Tommy."

If it comes down to a vote between the guy who left the mess or the guy who cleaned it up, we'll see who loves them some Tommy, I tell you what.