Fred Thompson caused Huckabee to lose in South Carolina?

McCain won SC with fewer votes than he got the last time he ran against George W Bush. Why was he able to beat Huckabee? Because Fred Thompson had gone into SC with the express purpose of taking away "Evangelical votes" from Huckabee. Indeed, he was able to do better than he had in any other state, in that he got 15% of the votes. The likelihood that Thompson will be able to duplicate that in other states is doubtful.

However, the media is building it up as a big "victory" for McCain. But is it really? Most likely, Huckabee would have won with a good majority if not for the Thompson plan? Which interpreted for future races would indicate that Huckabee is stronger than portrayed and McCain is much weaker than portrayed. They are both probably playing fo the VP spot for Romney, who actually appears to be the real "frontrunner" for the Republicans.

"Law and Order" demographic, too.

It IS a big victory for McCain. It's a crowded field, with a bunch of piddling little shits vying for attention.

Huckabee is done for. It's only a matter of time.

They had to divide the conservative vote. McCain should buy Fred a beer.