After a brief campaign, Fred Thompson has bowed out of the race for the White House:
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Republican Fred Thompson, the actor-politician who attracted more attention as a potential presidential candidate than as a real one, quit the race for the White House on Tuesday after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.
"Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," the former Tennessee senator said in a brief statement.
Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.
. . . . Thompson, best known as the gruff district attorney on NBC's "Law & Order," placed third in Iowa and South Carolina, two states seemingly in line with his right-leaning pitch and laid-back style, and fared even worse in the four other states that have held contests thus far. Money already tight, he ran out of it altogether as the losses piled up.
Thompson, 65, exits the most wide open Republican race in half a century; three candidates each having won in the six states that have voted.
In Florida, McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are battling for the lead ahead of its Jan. 29 primary, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee evaluates his next steps amid money troubles.
Thompson's withdrawal capped a turbulent 10 months that saw him go from hot to not in short order.
He began toying with a presidential run last March, emboldened by a fluid Republican nomination fight and a restive conservative GOP base. He also was charmed by resounding calls for him to get into the race—and his meteoric springtime rise to the top of national and state polls.
Fans trying to draft him as a candidate launched an online effort, seizing on his conservative Senate voting record as well as his lumbering 6-foot-5 frame and deep baritone as they argued that he was right out of central casting. . . . .
Thompson played coy about his intentions all the while taking steps to prepare for a formal entrance into the race with a flourish. He cut ties with NBC, visited early voting states and delivered high-profile speeches. And, he started raising money and set up a preliminary campaign organization.
He delayed his expected summertime entrance in the race until fall, perhaps missing an opening created by McCain's near campaign implosion.
As he prepared to officially join the race, Thompson was plagued by lackluster fundraising; high-profile staff departures, including some prompted by his wife Jeri's involvement in the campaign, and less- than-stellar performances on the stump. Thompson also endured repeated questions about his career as a lobbyist and his thin Senate record.
Thompson formally announced his bid in early September, but hit a rocky patch from the get-go.
I was glad that Fred Thompson joined the race, and I'm sorry to see him go so soon. Much more turbulence lies ahead on the Republican side, and there will be times when some on the right look back and wish that Thompon's hat was still in the ring.
But, as they now say, you win the presidency with the candidates you have. If you were a fan of Fred Thompson, who's your favorite now?
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