It was only seven short weeks ago when Charlie Pierce and I stood in the breakfast nook of the Manchester, N.H. Radisson and watched Buddy Roemer announce that his invisible presidential campaign would go on. He would skip the states with filing fees; he would concentrate on voters in Michigan.

Or maybe he wouldn't. The statement just out from Roemer world headquarters, located in an asteroid circling the planet*:

Tomorrow, I will formally end my bid for the GOP nomination for President of the United States. As the GOP and the networks host debate number twenty-something this evening, they have once again turned their backs on the democratic process by choosing to exclude a former Governor and Congressman. I have decided to take my campaign directly to the American people by declaring my candidacy for Americans Elect. Also, after many discussions with The Reform Party, I am excited to announce my intentions of seeking their nomination. It is time to heal our nation and build a coalition of Americans who are fed up with the status quo and the partisan gridlock that infects Washington. Together, we will take on the special-interests that control our leaders and end the corruptive influence of money in politics so we can focus on America’s top priority – jobs.

In some mirror universe, one with looser rules about entering televised debates, Roemer is a minor star. He nestled in to part of the Zeitgeist last year, attacking Citizens United and marching in solidarity with Occupy protesters. There surely were real human voters who wanted to hear a message like this, but they never heard Roemer. How that will change now that he's seeking a Reform Party nod, I have no idea, but I'm surprised to see that the Reform Party still exists and is in a "rebuilding stage." One of Roemer's rivals is "one of NY’s top fitness models," which isn't something you could say about the GOP field.

*Waiting for a fact check on this one.