Don’t be Shocked If Thompson Comes Up Big, Tonight.

Peter Robinson at The Corner

The latest news from Iowa? According to Zogby’s latest—and I quote: “Sen. Fred Thompson…has seen a late-breaking surge.” (Rich notes the same poll below.)

What’s going on here? My guess is that there are whole lot of Iowa Republicans who have about the same attitude that David Limbaugh displayed in his column yesterday:

Fred is the only [candidate] I don’t have major reservations about….I find his lack of “fire in the belly” refreshing. He strikes me as one of the few presidential candidates since Ronald Reagan whose primary motivation is not personal aggrandizement but rather serving and leading the nation in very troubled and dangerous times. I see him as almost being drafted into this project, and his refusal to drool publicly over the prospect of becoming the most powerful man in the world is positively delightful.

That said, he needs to make a more convincing case to the voters, which will require a greater display of enthusiasm that he views these as both perilous and promising times and that he is the best man, overall, to navigate the ship of state through these times.

So, Fred, please, as distasteful as it may be to you, it’s time to step up and prove you want it.

Iowa Republicans, in other words, have wanted Thompson to do them the courtesy of actually campaigning—and now they’re beginning to realize that he has.

Don’t get all self-important, there, Peter. I know the press likes to think itself the center of the Universe, but that’s not what’s happening out here in the real world. The real story is that people have finally gotten round to looking, really looking at the frontrunners in the field and finding them seriously wanting, as we have here at BitsBlog for some months.

Don’t be shocked if Thompson comes up big, tonight.

Addendum:  (David L)

I hate argument by analogy, but here it goes anyhow.   I think honest conservatives can agree that no candidate is the next Ronald Reagan.   Fred is certainly not.   

However if Fred is going to win, and the country needs Fred to win, he going to have to run like the Gipper.   Reagan won dispite, and not because of the press.  The media wants a democrat president and will do what ever it takes to get the weakest possible republican nominee.   Hence the media’ love affair with John McCain eight years ago, their affair with Mike Huckabee and their return to McCain.