‘A Lackluster Candidate’

Just six months ago Fred Thompson was considered the man to beat in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, an articulate former-senator-turned-actor whose campaign was so hotly anticipated that he was branded the second coming of Ronald Reagan—before his first campaign speech.

Thompson did little to discourage the hype, eventually declaring his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and vowing to mount an unconventional run for the White House. He wasn't kidding. Entering the race months after his opponents, Thompson stayed off the trail for weeks at a time; when he did show up, the former Tennessee senator did little to conceal his disdain for the process of campaigning. He thought that was a political plus—but the stance left voters wondering whether he really wanted the White House after all.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't," Thompson insisted earlier this month when quizzed by an Iowa voter on whether he really desired to be president. "I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it … I'm offering myself up."

But, he admitted a few seconds later, "I'm not particularly interested in running for president, but I think I'd make a good president." Thompson paused and grinned. "If what people really want in their president is a super-type-A personality, someone who has gotten up every morning and gone to bed every night and been thinking about, for years, how they can be president … someone who can look you straight in the eye and say they've enjoyed every minute of campaigning, I ain't that guy," Thompson said.

Indeed he wasn't. On Tuesday, after a disappointing third-place finish in South Carolina, Thompson ended his campaign in a style fitting his unconventional bid, in a three-sentence statement issued to reporters via e-mail. "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States," Thompson said. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort."

Thompson's rise and fall is astounding considering the chaos of the Republican primary, which still lacks a clear front runner. His candidacy didn't seem so hopeless at first. The buzz about the possibility of Thompson run started just about a year ago, when the former senator confirmed to Fox News that he was considering a run. He was viewed as a consistent conservative (Thompson boasted an 86 percent rating from the American Conservative Union, four points higher than John McCain). And he was seen as someone who could unite the party and fill the void in what was considered a generally lackluster GOP field. As rumors that he might toss his hat in the ring ramped up, his poll numbers rose—reaching the 20s in some surveys, matching numbers put up by McCain and Rudy Giuliani. In May, Thompson generated even more buzz by posting an online video challenging Michael Moore on Cuba and health-care policy.