From the Washington Post:
Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain, calling on the party to “close ranks” behind the presumed nominee.
“This is no longer about past preferences or differences. It is about what is best for our country and for me that means that Republican should close ranks behind John McCain,” Thompson said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Thompson’s endorsement was expected. The two men were colleagues for years in the Senate and shared what associates called a friendship. But while he was in the race, Thompson had bristled at the idea that he was going to drop out and endorse McCain.
The endorsement now may help McCain to coalesce the factions of the party around him. Thompson, who represented Tennessee in the Senate for eight years, is thought of well in the South, an area that McCain has not done well in.
February 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Maybe now, he is reconsidering the VP slot.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
“Maybe now, he is reconsidering the VP slot.”
Yeah cause that’s what we need. At least then the Matlock vote will be sewn up.
I’m all for McCain but Fred looks and acts even older. And that’s not going to help.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I love the Matlock vote characterization.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
So who is the young conservative Fred with some economic credentials that will carry the south?
February 9th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Plus, McCain and Thompson have apparently been friends for a long time, and yet Thompson didn’t endorse him until now, when it’s basically a done deal. What kind of endorsement is THAT?
And, like #2 said, unless they’re going for the old and cold crowd, McCain needs to choose someone decidedly more young and enthusiastic, to boost the ticket and help him seem hip at 73 or however old he is.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I heard just a clip of McCains stump speech the day after Romney suspended his candidacy. In the speech McCain was saying Gov. Romney and I agree that….. Anyway my point is: do you think McCain offered Romney something to drop? Not VP but something in the cabinet?
February 9th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
grandma T,
perhaps the better question is, “who is the young conservative Fred with some SO-CON credentials that will carry the south?
Can we say, “Huckabee”???
February 9th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Good for Thompson. But he’ll never get the VP spot. Although his die-hard fans would like to rewrite history to show him as some kind of dynamic voice for conservatism, the rest of us remember him as uninspiring and dull. Not a winning choice.
In fact, I’ll bet this endorsement is about the last we see of Fred Thompson in the news.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
#7 If that is the case then why isn’t McCain just making the deal and getting it over with?
February 9th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
#8 I heard Thompson wants to run for Gov of Tenn.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Texas Gov. Perry Asks Huckabee to Drop Out
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/09/politics/fromtheroad/entry3812334.shtml
February 9th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
#11 The longer Huckabee stays in the presidential race the more he will come across as a loser and will damage any further political aspirations. When the horse is dead get off.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
The time was right for his endorsement.
February 9th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
# 7 The many of the same people that recoil from McCain, have a similar dislike for Huckabee. It would be fine with me, because I want McCain to lose to the Democrat, so we can clean house and get back to being a Conservative party.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Jess #7: “Can we say, “Huckabeeâ€???”
No, we can’t.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
This was a very courageous move for Senator Thompson and probably portends a McCain/Thompson ticket.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
#16 That would be better than a McCain/Huckabee ticket but Thompson ads NO vibrance to the ticket. He is a great guy though.
February 9th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
I knew it. Thompson was a fake conservative all along. This is so sad.
February 9th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hmmm, why not before Mitt stoped running?
February 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
WTF? It is such a lie to say that McCain has not done well in the South! He won South Carolina and came in very close seconds in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia.
February 9th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
It would be a slap in the face to offer Romney anything other than the VP spot. Without team tactics and a love affair with the media, Romney would have been overwhelmingly selected as the Republican nominee. If McCain has a brain in his head he’ll put Mitt on the ticket. Mitt is plenty young enough and has the credentials we haven’t seen in a President in….well, maybe forever.
February 9th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
If Huckabee drops out now, it will be overwhelmingly obvious that he only reason he stayed in as long as he did was to to ride shot gun for McCain. After all, he did much better than expected on Super Tuesday, and nothing has happened since that time to change anything. Mitt is the only one who can unify the party. I get so sick of the Huckabee people coming on here and acting like he is conservative. What a laugh. He is socially conservative, unless you want to include his position on freeing convicts and nanny stating the illegals. He is stupid on the war on terror/foreign affairs, knows diddly!! And he is a populist on the economy. I wouldn’t trust Huckabee as far as I could throw him.
I don’t think Thompson will heal the party. Mitt on the ticket is the only one that can give it balance and completely heal the wounds. Fred would be amongst my top choices other than Mitt.
February 9th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Notice how Thompson waits to endorse McCain until after Romney dropped out – probably because Thompson agrees with Romney more often, but is better friends with McCain.
February 9th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Thompson will be the VP.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
[...] Fred Thompson also chose to jump on the bandwagon, endorsing his friend John McCain. Way to sell out, Fred! We knew you had it in you after you woke up from your nap. [...]
February 9th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
[...] http://race42008.com/2008/02/09/fred-thompson-officially-endorses-mccain/Â 2-9-2008Â Kavon W. Nikrad [...]