Op/Ed: Is McCain Paving the Way for Fred Thompson?

Could John McCain simply be setting the stage for a Fred Thompson entrance into the presidential race? Even if not the original intention, it seems like a possible strategy at this point.

John McCain, the so-called “maverick” of the Republican Party, isn’t well liked by too many Republicans these days. While his service to our country is admired and respected, his politics leave a lot to be desired. Many believe he is running for the wrong party (in fairness, the same can be said of several Republican candidates at this juncture). Now, McCain is losing even more support over his insistent attempts to force through amnesty. He had to know this and other issues would hurt his campaign. His campaign seems to be running out of money, his popularity as a frontrunner is flagging, and staffers are leaving although there are questions regarding whether they quit or were let go. There is also speculation that they are leaving to work for Fred Thompson. What is Thompson doing anyway? Is he running or not? I believe he is being groomed for the Republican nomination. He’s managed to avoid scrutiny for the most part by staying out of the fray. It may well be that all of this is by design. I’m guessing, but it seems at least somewhat plausible. When (if?) McCain decides to drop out of the race, he will likely endorse his buddy Fred Thompson and offer what’s left –if anything- of his campaign funding. If Thompson does succeed in winning the nomination, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he then asked his old friend to be his running mate. I find it interesting that many Republicans support Thompson but seem to intensely dislike McCain, despite the fact that the two are nearly identical ideologically. Maybe they just don’t know enough about Thompson, for example, that he not only supported but also sponsored McCain-Feingold. Hopefully, more voters will begin paying attention to voting records and long held positions rather than relying on election cycle rhetoric.