Thompson "gives up the ghost"

Sadly today, Senator Fred Thomspon gave up the chase to be the Republican presidential nominee. I say sadly because Thompson was the one consistently reliable conservative in the crowded GOP field. However, there were several factors that led to his poor showing in the early primary states. First, Thompson could not match the hype or the expectations that his candidacy generated when it began to surface last March. The expectation became that Thompson was the next Reagan. Unfortunately, no one, not even the talented Senator, could match the hype. Second, Thomspon waited far too long to formally announce his candidacy. At first, he was to announce last July 4th, then it was pushed back to August, then September 11th, and so on. It is any wonder no one took him seriously until he filed the paperwork in November? If there's a lesson to be learned is that if you are serious about running for the highest office in the land you need to make up your mind quickly. Otherwise, you will not generate any excitement or organization or be able to raise enough funds to be competitive. Finally, it never seemed that Thompson had the "fire in the belly" to be president. He has a laid back, relaxed personality that is often mistaken for ambivalence. Thompson's personality never connected with the voters, though he had a great message. Unfortunately, the messenger in this case got in the way of the message. Don't be surprised to see Thompson endorse his old friend John McCain. Be even less surprised if you find Thompson as McCain's vice-presidential running mate.