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I too am disappointed by Fred Thompson's departure from the race, as he was my favorite of the top-tier candidates. I don't think there was much wrong with his domestic-policy message or the messenger (conservative hymnal versus change), at least not during the primaries. Thompson surged in the polls during his pre-campaign days precisely because he was offering the full-spectrum conservatism that Republican voters desperately wanted and still for the most part want.

Unfortunately, the campaign overpromised in those summer days and underdelivered when Thompson finally declared his candidacy. Candidate Thompson didn't show signs of what made people support him in the first place until too many Republicans had concluded he was no longer viable. He might have had problems in the general election in any event if he didn't do the hard work of connecting the conservative principles he articulated so well to new policies that adress the problems of 2008. But Thompson's campaign is a missed opportunity for the man, for the Republican Party, and for conservatism.

If Mitt Romney can't prosper with Thompson out of the race, there are no conditions under which he could win the nomination.

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Conservatism