Besides some hype at the beginning, there really never was much to the Fred Thompson campaign. For a few moments, conservatives touted him as the man who would win over the country, bring a Reagan-esque quality of candidate to the race and from that, he'd raise tons of cash and volunteers. Of course we knew this wouldn't happen and now it looks like this car crash is being towed to the junkyard.
From The Politico:
“Without a solid third-place finish, there’s no point in going on,” a Thompson adviser said Wednesday. “It was an honorable race, and he turned out to be a good candidate. The moment had just passed.”
A Thompson campaign source said there is “a strong likelihood” that if Thompson comes in a distant third in Iowa, with less than 15 percent of the vote, he would drop out soon—most likely before this weekend’s New Hampshire presidential debates.
The Thompson sources said they were describing a consensus expectation that is now widespread among his political circle, not announcing a decision that the candidate himself has definitively reached.
Fred dropped the ten ton weight on his foot when he said the campaign needed a second place finish in Iowa, something highly unlikely to happen tonight. He is averaging 11.5 points in the polls, higher than Paul or Giuliani but still in 4th place. As of this weekend, Republican voters will have one less candidate to choose that they can't stand.
Oh and of course, he's denying it all. Talk to us in a few days Fred, if you are still around at all.
|