On the one hand, Fred! On the other hand, Zogby

Captain’s Quarters[*1] :

Some CapQ readers have pointed to the latest numbers from Zogby[*2] in Iowa as a harbinger of a Fred Thompson surprise for tomorrow’s caucuses. In their daily tracking poll, conducted by traditional telephone surveys rather than on-line polls, Zogby shows a significant bump in support over the last three days — enough to tie Fred with John McCain for third place:

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, gained a bit on Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas. Huckabee cumulative three-day tracking total equaled 28% support among likely Republican caucus–goers, while Romney moved up from 25% to 26% support. Arizona Sen. John McCain remained in third place at 12%, tied with former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has seen a late-breaking surge. Among Democrats, 5% were yet undecided just three days ahead of the caucuses. Among Republicans, 6% were yet unsure.

Huckabee’s support spans all age groups, but he is particularly strong among voters under age 30.

. . .
And the biggest shame of that is that Thompson could still be the unity candidate. Given his track record on federalism, Thompson offered the complete conservative package — smaller government, lower taxes and spending, pro-life, hard as nails on terrorism and only slightly less so on immigration, and the ability to charge life into the Reagan alliance that supports these ideals. He has been remarkably consistent, and the only real detriment would be his lack of executive experience and his inability to put together a real campaign.

Of all of the people running for President, the only one I think I’d be truly comfortable with, knowing what I know about all of them right now, is Thompson.  He seems to be running on the platform of “the only person who should be President is someone who doesn’t really want the job.”  That in and of itself is enough to get my vote, for now.  Of course, I’m not in Iowa, or New Hampshire, or South Carolina, or any of the early caucus/primary states, so I might not get the chance.

Our political process is well and truly f**ked up.