Time for Fred To Go

I said earlier I was convinced a McCain-Thompson alliance existed. Now that Fred has finished 3rd in South Carolina (and helped McCain win with only one-third of the vote), it's time for him to get out of the race. At this point, Fred's candidacy only serves the purpose of dividing conservatives and doing great harm to the Republican Party.

I don't expect Fred to endorse McCain immediately. That would be too obvious and would certainly create a backlash among conservatives. But I believe the McCain-Thompson alliance will be exposed at some point and will be remembered as one of the shrewdest yet most dishonest campaigns in American history.

McCain-Thompson Alliance

I have been skeptical about the rumors that Fred Thompson is only running to divide up conservative votes so John McCain can win the Republican nomination. But now I'm reconsidering.

A friend tells me that when Fred was in the Senate he was very close to McCain. He says they would always sit together in the back of the room at a separate table during the weekly GOP lunches. Everyone knows Lindsey Graham is McCain's buddy now but apparently Fred was the original McCain booster.

Fred has tossed a few barbs McCain's way but they are always sandwiched between a half-dozen attacks on the other candidates.

It may seem far-fetched to some that Fred would run just to help McCain but it was always known that McCain needed a divided field to win, especially when the race reached South Carolina. Fred supported McCain in 2000 and he has done very little in 2008 other than other than divide the conservative field and make a McCain nomination possible.