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Somehow I missed this when it first came out, but Fred Thompson has secured one of the few endorsements that probably carries more weight behind the scenes than it does in the general public. (Most endorsements are the opposite: Some bigwig politician endorses another, makes a big media splash... and it makes very little difference.) Morton Blackwell may not be a household name in middle America, but he is a household name among conservative activists. And for good reason. He carries great organizational muscle both as Republican National Committeeman from Virginia and as head of the Leadership Institute, which has trained many tens of thousands of conservative acvitists through the years. He also carries great weight in the social-conservative community, because he has a justly deserved reputation for being a socio-con stalwart with a real understanding of how to stand for principle and win at practical politics at the same time. Fred-Heads thus have great reason to be happy today, with the Blackwell endorsement coming just as Thompson finally hit a huge home run at one of the cattle-show debates.