I don’t have much to say about Thompson’s withdrawal from the race right now. It’s too bad, but the writing was already on the wall. I’m a bit deflated and will have to start taking the proverbial second looks. And I’m no longer feeling as chummy with several of the candidates as I was at the beginning of this process.

And I don’t plan to prioritize saying who I’ll gravitate towards next. Let them keep campaigning. I’ll keep watching.

As for the idea of Fred for VP, I’m fine with it if that’s what he wants (though, in full disclosure, I was stung by the possibility that he got into the race on that basis. I’m cooler about that part now–even if that was his original goal, there’s no deception in being over-optimistic and under-planned for taking advantage of something that seemed to promise larger things) but I’m unconvinced that McCain, for example, would abandon his own immigration and tax and eco policies for VP Thompson’s, and that being the case, how exactly would a Thompson VP make the McCain presidency easier to stomach for those who tend to sick up on McCain? A lot of folks seem reassured soley by the idea of Fred balancing McCain, but I don’t know that there’ll be much substance to it when push comes to shove. We’ll see.

If he was instrumental in breaking Huck’s momentum, and I believe he was, then it was totally worth it, ominous Allah rumblings about Huck’s future notwithstanding. And if in the end he was just frustrated by what it seems to take to be elected, he’s not the only one. Though I have serious misgivings about his reported short and lackluster stays at campaign stops, I can’t blame him for being somewhat disgusted with the dog-and-silky-pony show.

Update: Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side.