Maryland for Fred Thompson

8 Days until the South Carolina Primary
18 Days until the Florida Primary
25 Days until Super Tuesday

• New York Times:
  

  But it was Mr. Thompson’s performance, in which he shook off the laid-back style that has defined his candidacy, that provided some of the liveliest moments of the debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C..

  “This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future,” said Mr. Thompson, who has staked his run on a strong showing in South Carolina. The primary there is Jan. 19.

  “On the one hand,” he said, “you have the Reagan revolution, you have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. And the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies.”

  Mr. Thompson then lit into Mr. Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher and Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucus, for wanting to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, for supporting what he called “taxpayer-funded programs for illegals” and for wanting to sign a law restricting smoking.

  “That’s not the model of the Reagan coalition, that’s the model of the Democratic Party,” he said.

• Spartanburg Herald Journal:
  

  Thompson swung the first punch in the Fox News debate. And the second one. And the third, fourth, fifth …

  “This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future,” he said before launching into an extended monologue.

  “On the one hand, you have the Reagan revolution. You have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. On the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies. He believes we have an arrogant foreign policy and the tradition of ‘blame America first.’ He believes that Guantanamo should be closed down and those enemy combatants brought here to the United States to find their way into the court system eventually. He believes in taxpayer-funded programs for illegals, as he did in Arkansas …

  “So much for federalism. So much for states’ rights. So much for individual rights. That’s not the model of the Reagan coalition, that’s the model of the Democratic Party.”

  His comments drew the first major applause of the night, and it set the tone.

• Captain’s Quarters:
  

  Who put the vitamins in Fred Thompson’s oatmeal? We have waited for Thompson to show up on the campaign trail, and tonight he finally did. He had energy, focus, a command of detail, and a willingness to finally engage with the other candidates on the stage. He took almost everyone else aback, and seized momentum that he only occasionally relinquished.

• Jim Geraghty:
  

  In South Carolina, Fred’s all in. If he wins, he deals Huckabee a pretty tough blow, as the argument will be made, “If Huckabee can’t win South Carolina, where can he win?” Thompson will tout himself, as one of his guys put it to me, as authentic barbecue to Huckabee’s McRib.