Maryland for Fred Thompson

6 Days until the South Carolina Primary
16 Days until the Florida Primary
23 Days until Super Tuesday

• Ken Taylor, RedState:
  

  I had the opportunity to cover the debate throughout the day since it was in Myrtle Beach, SC where I call home. Fred was the first candidate to arrive at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and had been in the area covering three cities the day before on his ” Clear Conservative Choice Hands Down, ” Bus Tour of the Palmetto State.

  Behind the scenes most in the media were counting Fred out. Then the debate began and Fred stepped forward and took control with excellent detailed answers to every question asked him. He is the only candidate that took on the real Mike Huckabee in questioning and revealing the true Arkansas record and Fred had the most memorable line of the evening when he suggested that the Navy, if further provoked by Iran would be sending them to, “see those virgins,” they have been wanting to see.

  As I watched the other media sit up and take notice of Fred and actually quoting him on their lap tops while writing reports and having a somewhat , ” Ho Hum, ” attitude toward the other candidates, I thought, ” Fred is starting to catch on. ” As the audience began leaving the debate hall, most of the conversations where about Fred Thompson. When he entered the Spin Room after the debate reporters who had just glanced at McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani when they entered swarmed Fred with questions. In fact he was the only candidate to remain in the Spin Room and talk with reporters after his appearance on Hannity and Combs.

  The Fox News Focus Group overwhelmingly selected Fred as the winner of the debate and the rest of the media followed suit the next day as the pundits and analysts began their post debate review. Most of the clips were of Fred and his stellar performance.

• CBS News [via Blogs for Fred Thompson]:
  

  Mixing theology and social issues on the campaign trail is rare for Fred Thompson, but he discussed it today answering a question from a member of the audience.

  A woman asked him if he would “as a Christian, as a conservative” continue President Bush’s programs to combat global AIDS.

  “Christ didn’t tell us to go to the government and pass a bill to get some of these social problems dealt with. He told us to do it,” Thompson said.

  “The government has its role, but we need to keep firmly in mind the role of the government, and the role of us as individuals and as Christians on the other.”

  He received a round of applause for his answer, and went on to expand on the role of government in fighting AIDS and other diseases.

  “I’m not going to go around the state and the country with regards to a serious problem and say that I’m going to prioritize that,” he said.

  “With people dying of cancer, and heart disease, and children dying of leukemia still, I got to tell you – we’ve got a lot of problems here, and we all may have our one that’s affected us the most, but it’s a broad array. And a president who will tell you the truth is that we have to look across the board and do what we can and what we should based upon the severity of the problem and the chances that our research money will do some good in these areas.”

• Associated Press:
  

  As he did during a Thursday night debate in Myrtle Beach, Thompson questioned Huckabee’s commitment to Reagan’s principles, including a strong national defense and limited government.

  “On the one hand, you have the Reagan coalition, which was based on sound, conservative principles that were handed down from the very beginning of the country,” Thompson said. “On the other hand, we’ve got people now saying, ‘Well, we need to be more populist. We need to talk about, you know, about the man’s holding us down.’

  “We can stand improvement, but it’s not about all of that,” Thompson said.

  Mike Campbell, Huckabee’s campaign chairman in South Carolina, said Thompson has “now started attacking the guy who has appealed to the conservatives that he was hoping to appeal to.”

  “When you can’t sell yourself then you resort to desperate tactics and that is to tear the other guy down,” Campbell said.

  Thompson has said he’s also counting on a Southern appeal during his 11-day bus tour in South Carolina, which started earlier in the week. He told listeners several times Friday that’s he’s got a laid-back style. “By the way, it’s about my nap time,” he said as the crowd sipped coffee.

  When it comes to identifying with the downtrodden, Thompson said he’s got his rivals beat. “I can out-poor any of them. I grew up under more modest circumstances than anybody on that stage,” he said.

  Thompson kept up the banter at a stop in Moncks Corner and capped the day with more criticism for his opponents.

  “It seems that some people don’t like to have their records talked about. Sorry to disappoint them,” Thompson said as he wrapped up the day at a packed barbecue house in Mount Pleasant. “You can’t run a presidential campaign in South Carolina without putting your cards on the table.”

  Thompson called out Huckabee for supporting a national smoking ban and for an endorsement he got from a teachers’ union, the National Education Association. Thompson also criticized McCain and Rudy Giuliani on immigration issues and Mitt Romney on health care.

• Ace of Spades HQ:
  

  In related news there is nearly 900K Fred!’s gas tank and they are shooting for a mil by Monday night, I have to admit I am rather shocked that they have been able to pile up the pesos so fast.

• Instapundit:
  

  I just got an email from a journalist who says that crowds at Thompson events are suddenly over-capacity. Is it a tipping point for Thompson, or just a blip? Stay tuned.