Drop Dead Fred

Dissatisfied that he wasn't given the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue immediately upon announcing, fed up with the grueling one-stop-every-other-day campaign schedule, convinced that there was practically nothing more he could do to ask people for their votes (except for actually showing up and asking), and just grumpy because he didn't get his green Jello today, Fred Thompson has reached the end of the line.

Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday’s Iowa caucus.

Thompson’s campaign, which last spring and summer was generating fevered anticipation in the media and with some Republican activists, has never ignited nationally, and there are no signs of a late spark happening here in Iowa, where even a third-place finish is far from assured.

This reality—combined with a fundraising drought—left well-connected friends and advisers of Thompson Wednesday evening predicting that he will pull the plug on hype and hope before the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary [...]

“Without a solid third-place finish, there’s no point in going on,” a Thompson adviser said Wednesday. “It was an honorable race, and he turned out to be a good candidate. The moment had just passed.”

No word on whether or not the advisor was referring to a Maalox moment.

By the way, it's expected that Thompson would throw his support to John McCain, inducing this cringe-worthy line:

In turn, Thompson might be named attorney general in a McCain administration.

For those of you who thought Alberto Gonzales was in over his head...

Also, looks like there could be an open podium for that Fox News debate this weekend! Ron Paul, anyone?