Fred Thompson Out…Now What?
The obvious jokes about Fred Thompson’s lethargic campaigning style and his occasional quips (remember when he schooled a moderator about raising hands?) have been made by about a thousand different bloggers today. Thompson’s disappointing finish in South Carolina this past weekend has led the former senator and current actor to leave the race in a blaze of mediocrity. I thought for sure that he would announce his exit on Jimmy Kimmel’s show just as he announced his entrance into the race to Jay Leno.
The parity of the 2008 Republican field is the only reason why Fred Thompson was ever a factor. If Thompson had run in the year 2000 with moderate John McCain and establishment favorite George W. Bush running, he would have run a distant fourth behind Steve Forbes. The effort to turn Thompson into another Ronald Reagan shows the desperation of handlers and advisors within the Republican Party to stave off the inevitable: the Republican Party must cast off its political detritus before rising again. If Thompson would have won the nomination in some act of desperation by primary voters, he would have been handled by anyone in the Democratic field save Mike Gravel.
Talking heads have speculated what Fred Thompson’s exit from the race will mean for the remaining candidates. The speculation that Mike Huckabee is a natural candidate for Thompson’s conservative acolytes may not be accurate. Huckabee has floundered significantly since winning Iowa. I think a majority of the supporters will head to Mitt Romney who is looking like the conservative alternative for Republicans afraid of nominating John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. I don’t think there were enough Thompson supporters to make much of a difference but the vast independent voter who had not been exposed to the Southern gentleman’s subtle charms may swing to Romney in the end.
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