Below The Beltway

With the first day of the Republican National Convention canceled thanks to the threat of Hurricane Gustav, things got back on track yesterday with a day devoted to playing up the parties 2008 nominee:\
ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 — Republicans began laying out a vigorous argument Tuesday for electing John McCain to the presidency, using [...]

One of the enduring mysteries of the 2008 Republican race has been why the ostensibly conservative candidates — Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney — are failing to capture the attention of Republican voters. Jennifer Rubin examines the issue in the New York Observer.
First of all, Rubin correctly points out that the problem wasn’t the voters, [...]

That’s what Fox’s Carl Cameron is reporting today:
Back in March of 07 at the CPAC convention in DC several former Fred Thompson Congressional staffers told me Fred Thompson was thinking about a run. Some of his Tennessee cronies had been talking him up too.
I reported first that he was eyeing a White House bid. At [...]

Fox News is reporting that Fred Thompson is ending his Presidential campaign:
Fred Thompson plans to drop his presidential bid, FOX News learned Tuesday.
Thompson has begun calling friends, family members and supporters to tell them his campaign is over. He left Nashville Tuesday afternoon for McLean, Va., where he is expected to make an announcement after [...]

It seems that Fred Thompson has backed out of Thursday’s Republican debate in Florida:
Fox News is reporting that Fred Thompson has told Fox he will not be participating in Thursday’s debate and may make an announcement about his candidacy soon.
And Jim Geraghty at National Review reports this:
I spoke to one of my Thompson sources.
He’s still [...]

With the results in and John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Mitt Romney each rightfully claiming a victory last night in their parties’ Nevada and South Carolina events, it’s time to take a look at where things stand today.
So, here’s what I think:
Republicans
The Republican race is now essentially a three man race between McCain, Huckabee, and [...]

Once again, I tread into the dangerous and, so far unsuccessful, world of prediction.
In this case, today’s South Carolina Republican Primary and Nevada Caucuses.
First Nevada:
Democrats

Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards

The current polls show Clinton with a slight edge, but caucuses are harder to poll than primaries and I think Obama will win based on a combination of [...]

Pro-Huckabee, Anti-Thompson. Like the guy says, interesting

Eight years ago, South Carolina was the state that effectively ended John McCain’s bid for the Presidency.
Now, it looks like it might be the one that turns him into the putative frontrunner:
Over the past several days, the only real movement in South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary has been a four-point gain for Fred Thompson and [...]

With two weeks to go the Republican race in Florida, the last battleground before Super Tuesday is closer than it’s ever been:
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds four candidates essentially tied for the lead in Florida’s Republican Presidential Primary. It’s McCain 19%, Giuliani 18%, Romney 18%, and Huckabee 17%. Fred Thompson is a few [...]