A reader offers this take on the latest Iowa polling:
To the extent that he can re-ignite, isn't Thompson's best route to try to push Romney down to third in Iowa (which would really damage him) rather than taking down Huckabee now? Thompson can worry about Huck later, when having money and seeming presidential will count for more. The fact that Romney has sunk all the time and money into Iowa and can't shake Huckabee shows he hasn't won over people's 'hearts and minds.' Seems to me that Huck-Fred going 1-2 in Iowa would marginalize Romney and set up a Huck-Fred contest in South Carolina for the anti-Rudy role. And the guy in the anti-Rudy role has a pretty good shot. In other words, if I'm Thompson I don't try to burst the Huck bubble; I would let the two of them both look genuine compared to robo-Mitt.
This seems like good advice to me, but apparently Thompson disagrees and wants to take on the Huck-ster now:
Thompson called it 'very interesting' that Huckabee is second - within the margin of error of first - in recent Iowa polling. 'I wonder who will lead it next week and the week after that and the week after that,' Thompson said. 'It's a fluctuating situation in Iowa as always, you know, everybody's just going to have to do the best they can do and see how it turns out in the end.' Thompson was just warming up, as he went on to imply that Huckabee's surge may be short-lived. 'Well he is, he's kind of new to the first tier I guess you might say, and so they probably don't know him as well as they know some of the rest of us,' Thompson said. 'But that's a situation that will be cured shortly. That's the reward you get for doing well in a poll. You start getting attention, and I'm sure that'll happen with regard to him as it's happened to all of us.'
A third-place finish for Romney in Iowa would be a serious blow to the governor's candidacy - but it may also position him for a strong showing in New Hampshire and the inevitable "comeback kid" stories that would follow.