GWB was far from the most popular candidate around here in '99/'00 (to understate the matter), but not surprisingly folks rallied around him once it was clear he was going to win the nomination and Al Gore needed to be stopped at all costs.
If Thompson doesn't win expect a "deja vu all over again" situation.
I hope so. I do not like several candidates, most notably right now Huckabee, but even if it was him (or Rudy, etc.), any is far better than Hillary, Obama, and Edwards. Furthermore, I’m not willing to punish the GOP again like people here did in 2006 b/c the only ones punished were us by a Democratic Congress. I really hope you’re right. I do not want to live through 4-8 years of libmania.