This could be the big story of the political season -- and explain the solicitations that keep showing up in my email.

Fred ThompsonÂ’s plan is simple: Get on a bus and haul around to some 50 Iowa towns and cities between now and Jan. 3.

ItÂ’s the only option he has.

Thompson has little money left in bank and has had to slash his television presence here to a level well below that of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. His cash crunch is so severe that heÂ’s even had to freeze his direct mail plan.

So now, for the next two weeks before the caucuses, he'll be largely living off the land.

As I look at things, Fred Thompson OUGHT TO BE one of the top three candidates in the race. He OUGHT TO BE drawing support away from Rudy and McCain. But he never has managed to do so at a significant level, because he never really got the campaign off the ground. He is great in debates. he is great in person. But while everyone else was out on the campaign trail, Thompson has been significantly less active on every front.

This leads me to two conclusions.

1) Fred Thompson's only hope is a strong finish in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Second in any one of them would be great, but lower than third in more than one of them should drive a stake through the heart of his campaign.

2) Fred;s major asset now is that he is the ideal vice presidential candidate on any ticket except for McCain's (two Senators is a bad idea, though the Dems might do it). After all, Fred Thompson is the second choice of most Republicans, including this one. He effectively balances the ticket ideologically and/or geographically.

Six months ago, I suspected that I was standing inches from the next President of the United States when he flew into Houston. Now I'm pretty sure that he will max-out at Vice President.

Posted by: Greg at 02:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 341 words, total size 2 kb.