There Is No Joy in Fredville, Mighty Thompson Has Struck Out

It's all over for the Fred Heads:

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.

"Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.

In the statement, Thompson did not say whether he would endorse any of his former rivals. He was one of a handful of members of Congress who supported Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2000 in his unsuccessful race against George W. Bush for the party nomination.

I already wrote my post mortem on the Thompson candidacy. You can read it here.

Just seven months ago Fred took the lead in the Rasmussen poll. Had he gotten in the race on July 4th as we all hoped, he'd probably be walking away with the nomination, instead of just walking away.