The Discerning Texan

Lisa Schiffren sums up not only what I feel about how Fred Thompson has conducted his campaign, but also her high esteem for the loyal Republican base which has supported him. Fellow Fred-heads, take a bow:

After hearing from a great many of you — I have reconsidered. Not that anyone listens to me, but Fred should stay in the race, at least through February 5. And all of you deeply principled conservatives should come out and vote on principle, not tactically. Hell, vote twice. And yes, as many of you argue, he would be very strong at a brokered convention, as everyone's second choice, loved by many, hated by none, with the clearest conservative politics to boot. Though it still seems very unlikely that we will have a brokered convention, it would be preferable to choose that way if none of the leading candidates can break through 35% of the GOP base vote in the primaries.

I need to add that, in the months that I have been writing here at the Corner I have gotten all sorts of e-mails from supporters of various candidates. Some nastier and more dismissive than you would believe (often from Huckabee supporters). But the responses from people making the case for Fred have been uniform in their geniality, their intelligence, their call to principle, and their well-written efforts to persuade. I still don't think he has a real chance, and I don't think it was the media's doing either. But I hope he knows how impressive his supporters are.