If Thompson is coming in with the “consistent conservative” message his rivals are ready. A rival campaign thinks consistency cuts both ways and says this: “His Senate record looks like a marriage of John McCain and John Edwards. Centrist Republican meets deal-making trial lawyer. The only consistency found in his record is that he was consistently absent from doing any real work on conservative issues while he was in the Senate.” I think this means the honeymoon for Thompson has come and gone and his opponents are sharpening their barbs for Wednesday night (it is always easier to insult someone who is not standing next to you). It is no accident that his rivals –most clearly Romney in his latest running ad and Huckabee in his media call on Friday — are talking a lot about vigor, energy and hard work. Also no accident that all Thompson’s rivals have had much to say about tort reform. Expect to hear more on Wednesday night.

UPDATE: As a factual matter Thompson’s lifetime ACU rating (86) was very close to McCain’s(84) as of 2002 when Thompson left the Senate. For comparison sake at the time Bill Frist had a 90 and Phil Gramm had a 95.