Posted on 01/21/2008 2:14:55 AM PST by trumandogz
While other Republican presidential candidates turned their focus to Florida on Sunday, Fred Thompson turned his attention to his ailing mother and his ailing campaign.
Thompson’s run for the White House may have hit a wall after suffering a stinging setback Saturday in South Carolina, where Thompson had essentially moved his entire operation and needed a strong finish, which he did not get.
The South’s first primary saw the former Tennessee senator finish a distant third to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, respectively.
After the loss, Thompson’s speech to his supporters left the impression that the once-looked-upon candidate to unite the Republican Party would be bowing out of the presidential race.
“I’m not sure there’s any real rationale to stay in because it hasn’t happened,” said Steve Gill, a conservative talk show host who penned a book on Thompson’s candidacy, adding that Thompson “got too far behind and dug too deep a hole” to save what once was a promising candidacy.
Gill on Sunday said Thompson’s campaign is “pretty much done,” noting that the campaign was not aggressively refuting speculation that he was dropping out.
A call to Thompson’s campaign headquarters went unanswered. A spokeswoman did not return a call on her cell phone.
Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor, said yesterday that the “only real purpose” of Thompson’s candidacy at this point was helping McCain, a close ally of his while the two served in the Senate.
Oppenheimer said it’s “hard to see” where Thompson can break into the upper-tier and do well on “Super Tuesday” besides his home state of Tennessee.
“I don’t know if it’s the end for him, but this is a campaign that’s on life support and it’s a real question about whether the patient can breath on his own,” Oppenheimer said.
Thompson’s strategy in South Carolina partly centered on going after Huckabee aggressively. But Thompson failed to sway nearly enough South Carolinians to dent the other southern conservative in the race.
Huckabee received more than 125,000 votes, nearly doubling Thompson’s 66,580.
Juan Williams, a National Public Radio and Fox News political analyst, said Huckabee is the southern conservative who has “some chance of going forward.”
Not so for Thompson, Williams said, noting that he did not travel immediately to Florida, which is the site of the next Republican primary.
“I think he was retreating,” Williams said Sunday morning on Fox News. “And you know, happy trails.”
Instead of heading to Florida, Thompson visited his mother in the hospital, according to media reports. She has been battling pneumonia.
If Thompson were to drop out of the race, his name would still be on the ballot when Tennessee has its presidential primary elections Feb. 5. Early voting has already begun.
A Thompson exit could spur Republican candidates who were previously willing to concede the Volunteer State to make an effort to win here.
Gill said if Thompson does indeed intend to drop out, he should do so immediately to give other GOP presidential candidates time to spread their message in Tennessee.
“If he stays in, all he does is deny Tennessee voters the chance to really have their voices heard,” Gill said.
In the South Carolina speech on Saturday, Thompson often spoke in the past tense and thanked his supporters repeatedly and ended his speech by encouraging them to “stand strong” for their conservative beliefs.
“My friends, we will always be bound by a close bond because we have traveled a very special road together for a very special purpose,” Thompson said.
Thompson and Hunter are the only two that live on the same planet I do.
With all the others still standing (in either camp) the slide continues. .. some accelerate it faster than others, but it continues never the less.
Willard will change his mind once again on the major issues of the day.
LLS
WELL i agree with you 110 percent on duncan he’s the best conservative by far.....HUNTER/ROMNEY.....ROMNEY/HUNTER
THE DREAM TICKET FOR AMERICA
Sorry flat, Mitt leaves me flat, he's slicker that an eel in a bucket full of snot.
HHAAAHHAA POORLY PUT UNLESS YER TALKIN ABOUT SLICK...
I’LL SAY THIS. MITT AIN’T PERFECT BUT HE’S AS GOOD AS IT GETS IN THE ELECTABILITY DEP’T IN THIS CROP.
I DON’T THINK THE MORMON CHURCH ALLOWS FOR CROOKEDNESS OR SHENANIGANS SO HE’S CLEAR THERE...
AND
HE’S A PROVEN BUSINESSMAN...WHEN HE REORGANIZES COMPANIES MORE JOBS ARE CREATED THAN WERE ORIGINALLY LOST DUE TO HIS EFFORTS....
EVEN A JASPER ON THE LEFT WING ‘DEMOCRACY NOW’ TOLD THAT LAST NIGHT’ HE SAID IT REALLY REALLY FAST THEN DID HIS BEST TO TRASH MITT.
SO THAT IS A GOOD SIGN THERE.....TO...I.E.
IF THE LIBS DON’T LIKE HIM I DO.
PLUS....
STARS LIKE RUSH AND ANN COULTER ARE GETTIN ON THE MITT BANDWAGON....THAT SHOULD SEAL THE DEAL FOR ANY SERIOUS CONSERVATIVE....U KNOW WHAT RUSH SAYS
‘DONT KNOW WHAT TO THINK?
I’LL TELL U!
I MEAN ANNIE AND RUSH! DOES IT GET ANY BETTER?
Told you so.
Interesting post.
First, you did no such thing. Second, it didn't take a genius to read the tealeaves.
But he had to leave the race because too many people were enamored by liberal Rs. That was my concern. It still is.
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