Fred was the clearest conservative but he wasn’t the most electable. And I think he knew all along from the beginning that he wasn’t going to win.
Whether he was the most electable conservative probably depends on whether you consider John McCain or Rudy Giuliani to be conservatives.
Of the top 5 candidates (Romney, McCain, Giuliani, Huckabee and Thompson) here’s how I see electability
1) McCain
2) Giuliani
3) Thompson
4) Romney
5) Huckabee
My own order of preference:
1) Thompson
2) Giuliani
3) Romney
4) McCain
5) Huckabee
I do find it amusing how many people on here assume that whoever their preferred candidate is also happens to be the most likely to win. While I factor electability into my list of considerations, I put a number of other factors ahead of it, and I’m not delusional in thinking a candidate that agrees with me is destined to win.