Will McCain’s Sinking Ship Lead to Thompson Support?

As I posted earlier at blogsforthompson, John McCain is once again bucking the GOP.  This time, however, he’s fighting the grassroots support as opposed to the establishment.  I admire Senator McCain a great deal, and it would be sad to see him fail as a presidential candidate again, but the immigration bill has completely reversed the trends of 2000.  There is a great deal of support for it in the U. S. Senate, but among the voters in the GOP primaries, there seems to be very little, if any.  He’s staked his political life on this immigration bill, and it could be what puts the stake through the heart of his electoral chances.  There is an interesting prediction of what could happen found here.

While it may be too soon to write the obituary for McCain’s 2008 campaign, that day might not be far off. Before long, McCain could forseeably fall to fourth place in GOP polls once Fred Thompson enters the race. As an unannounced candidate, Thompson is polling just points behind Senator McCain; once he actually gets in, Thompson is sure to be much more of a force.

Although some pundits have argued that McCain would prefer to fight as the underdog, he has made some risky political gambles that are not paying off. His support for th surge in Iraq has been far from a success as the situation there has yet to stabilize. Additionally, his work on a compromise immigration bill is winning him few plaudits.