A Little Iowa Political Theater

Rep. Steve King of Iowa made his presidential endorsement today, as reported by MSNBC:

And the endorsements keep coming... Congressman Steve King (R), one of Iowa's most strident critics of illegal immigration and a champion of the state's rural conservatives, has endorsed Romney.

With a mere 17 days until the Iowa caucuses, King's endorsement may resonate with conservatives in the western part of the state. King had fostered a close relationship with longshot candidate Tom Tancredo, who shares his strong anti-illegal immigration views. But speculation yesterday was that the much-revered (in some circles) congressman wanted to make a splash by endorsing one of the race's front-runners.

King's endorsement of Romney could serve to further the Massachusetts governor's case against Huckabee, whom Team Romney hopes to paint as weak on immigration.

Wait a minute - that's not Mitt Romney he's endorsing but Fred Thompson as shown in this update:

*** UPDATE *** King just announced that he's supporting Thompson. Team Romney is in the back of the room looking bewildered. They were all here, leading all the press to conclude that it was an endorsement for Romney.

Wow. That has to be embarrassing for both the Romney team and MSNBC that thought they had a scoop. Somebody got their signals badly crossed. You can read Rep. King's statement here.