US / Fred Thompson Too Late for Thompson? GOP hopeful, down in polls, seeks to regain ground with serious policy talk By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Nov 24, 2007 12:18 PM CST Copied Republican presidential hopeful, former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., center, greets voters after speaking at a town hall meeting at Cafe Diem in Ames, Iowa, on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Kevin Sanders) (Associated Press) Is it too late for Fred Thompson? Politico reports that almost two months after he was hailed as a sure bet in the checkered Republican primary field, Thompson is down in the polls. So he's returned to what he loves—talking serious policy—and is even enduring “inside-the-Beltway political BS,” as he calls it, like Sunday morning shows and grip and grins. And he may be gaining traction: He’s rolled out initiatives on Social Security and the military that have won conservative praise. The National Right to Life Committee even gave him its prized endorsement. Now his handlers say Thompson must shine in Iowa, but one GOP analyst is dubious: “It’s getting a little late for Thompson, who may have squandered an almost unprecedented opportunity." (More Fred Thompson stories.) Report an error