Politico Reporting Thompson Expected to Drop Out After Iowa

Politico, the online political newspaper that tends to lean to the right, is reporting that sources close to the Fred Thompson campaign expect him to drop out if he finishes poorly in the Iowa caucuses. Thompson is also expected to endorse John McCain, who is enjoying a resurgence in New Hampshire. Thompson is one of those candidates who Washington types thought would be a great candidae, but who never caught on with the voters.

Although Thompson seems to be the first major candidate whose aides are talking to the media about dropping out, he certainly won't be the last. It is hard to see how candidates like Dodd and Biden, both of whom would probably make a good president, could continue following a poor showing in Iowa, especially if followed by a poor showing in New Hampshire.

For a lot of these candidates, both Republican and Democratic, there is a vicious cycle at work. They can't be competitive if they don't have donations coming in, but they can't get donations if they aren't getting media attention, and they can't get media attention without showing some movement in the polls. Movement in the polls, of course, depends on getting media attention.

Probably by the weekend after the New Hampshire primary each party will be down to three candidates with realistic chances of continuing until the big round of primaries on February 5. The Republicans will probably be Romney, Huckabee, and McCain. The Democrats will probably be Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. In each party, though, the primary season could go deeper than the media anticipates. Who knows, there may yet be a competitive primary for each party in Ohio on March 4.

Fox News Won't Invite Ron Paul to Televised Debate

Just in case you thought that Fox News only screws over Democrats, check this out: Fox News is sponsoring a debate right before the New Hampshire primary. It didn't invite Ron Paul, but did invite Fred Thompson. The kicker? Ron Paul is polling ahead of Fred Thompson in New Hampshire. So why isn't the Fox letting Ron into its henhouse?

Paul told the Boston Globe that it was because they support the war, he opposes it, and they are "scared" of him. We think that it is more likely that Fox News is ticked off at Paul because he isn't afraid to criticize Bubble-Boy Bush.

Fox News isn't so much pro-Republican as it is pro-corporation, which usually, but not always translates into being pro-Republican. Our guess is that they aren't real happy about Mike Huckabee either, since he is running a populist campaign that talks about policies that helps working class families as opposed to helping corporations. Fox News, as the official network of the obscenely wealthy, isn't going to get on that bandwagon.

The New Hampshire Republican Party has called on Fox News to allow Ron Paul into the debate. It will be interesting to see if Faux News relents or decides to say screw it and drop all pretense of being a legitimate news organization.