OK, not really. 

The great Bryan, myself and the blogger known as Andrew’s Dad met tonight in a secret undisclosed location, somewhere on the East Side of Seattle, to swill beer, plot the takeover of the world and make fun of Ken Schram.

We opened the meeting of the circle of trust by performing the secret war dance, handshake and then shouting “Holy Shnike” three times while bowing towards Mecca (Indiana, population 355).

OK that may not be how it went down.

Andrew’s Dad and I met Bryan at one of his favorite hangouts in Kirkland, where he and his remarkable wife had gone to enjoy dinner and some trivia.  We wanted to drop in and toast his new opportunity in radio LA, and to thank him for the support he has given local bloggers over the last year or so.

A’s Dad and I arrived early and ate at the bar.  First time I have met him, and it was nice to finally meet another local blogger.  He is a warm sincere guy who takes great delight in taking about the Andrew in his title, his son (obviously).

Finally we located Bryan and joined his party for a quick chat.  Bryan’s wife is a wonderful woman who is his total equal, and far better then he deserves.   She invited us to stay and chat for a bit, which we took her up on.

It was a fun time of trading stories and laughing, even if it held that bittersweet sense of goodbye.

Like it or not though, Bryan was always a big fish in a small pond, and sooner or later his accomplishments would have carried him up and out.  His departure from KVI was a surprise to all of us, but he was (again) very pragmatic when discussing it.  He could have acted pissy and made a scene but chose to move on and find a new home for his ideas. 

As the South Carolina primary approaches, Fred has begun to fire it up.

He is driving the consistent conservative message, subtly distancing himself from the Bush admin and answer tough questions with common sense.

Here are a few samples, the first from Reuters:

Thompson criticizes appeal to Saudis

Appealing to Saudi Arabia to encourage higher oil production to help lower prices is not in the long-term interest of the United States, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said on Wednesday.

The White House said President George W. Bush hopes that as a result of his talks this week with King Abdul of Saudi Arabia, OPEC would be encouraged to increase production to help alleviate high oil prices, which have touched $100 a barrel.

Appearing on CNN, Thompson was asked whether, as president, he would turn to Saudi Arabia for help as Bush did.

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said the problem was a “little bigger” than Saudi Arabia.

“It’s not in the United States’ long-term interest to go hat in hand begging people to do things that in the end we know they’re not going to do,” Thompson said.

“What we need to concentrate on is diversifying our own energy sources here in this country and opening up what oil reserves that we have here … using nuclear more, using clean coal technology more and all the other things that we can do,” Thompson said.

Simple common sense.  The Saudis are not the answer, energy independence is.

Next, Via Hot Air, Fred takes on gun control:

Thompson: Bush Admin overlawyered DC 2A case

The Fred Thompson for President, South Carolina bus tour reached Spartanburg today, where the Law & Order TV star candidate fielded questions at Papa’s Breakfast Nook from Charlotte, N.C.’s WBT-AM radio talk show host Jeff Katz.