“Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States.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. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.”

Fred Thompson received the endorsement of the conservative magazine Human Events.

We make this endorsement on the basis of much research, having interviewed Sen. Thompson and some of his opponents, as well as examining what they have all said and done. We conclude that Thompson is a solid conservative whose judgment is grounded in our principles.

Read the rest.

It expands on what they like about Sen. Thompson, what they don’t like about the other candidates, and what they want to hear from Thompson’s campaign.

I really liked the open format in the first half. The candidates really got to expand on their responses.

I recorded both debates, but I only watched the Republican one. I saw parts of the Democratic one, but truthfully, I don’t really care, yet, since I won’t be voting in the Democratic primary.

This was my first time seeing all of the candidates in a full debate. I saw parts of the Iowa PBS debate, since it was on when the kids went to watch their afternoon shows, but with three kids who just found out that a bunch of yammering politicians were on instead of their shows, well, you can guess it was hard to watch much of it.

I am glad that ABC lowered the threshold of participation. To be in the debate a candidate only needed 5% in any national or New Hampshire poll.

The Republicans were (alphabetically) Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson.

This was my first chance to see what a condescending dink Mitt Romney is, unless you count the marijuana video.

I am sorry. I try to stay above board and not call names, but there is no other way to put it. The guy is a first-class jerk.

If that was all, I might be able to overlook it, but he’s absolutely heartless (even for a Republican) on illegals already in this country, and he actually said, “I like mandates,” when talking about health care.

This is a Republican debate, Mitt.

Speaking if illegal immigration, I honestly thought Giuliani had the best answer on that topic, though not a unique idea. I just thought he articulated it well.

Ron Paul, who I have liked in the past, came off as kind of a wing-nut. He was right on with so many issues, but he has that fringe candidate anger that I find unsettling.

Besides, his foreign policy is a little naive. I am no neo-con, but one must be realistic about the threat that exists. Pulling all of our troops around the world home will not end the jihad.

John McCain did pretty well, but he is letting Romney’s attacks get to him. He seemed ruffled. I don’t think it hurt him, though.

I don’t really have much of an opinion about Mike Huckabee’s performance. I thought his answers sounded too rehearsed and I didn’t really get much out of it. He was, however, on Fox News Sunday. I have a lot to say about that interview, but that warrants a new post.

The highlights of the evening were the countless jabs that McCain, Huckabee, Giuliani, and Thompson all got in against Romney. There were some zingers in there. I think that even Charles Gibson laughed at times.

I think Fred Thompson, the runaway favorite here at She’s Right, did well. The highlight for me was his response to the question posed by President Bush regarding the candidates’ guiding principles.

Forward to 2:34 to see it. I transcribed some of it here:

Our first principles are based on the Constitution of the United States…understanding the nature of our government, the checks and the balances, the separation of powers that our Founding Fathers set up a long time ago. There’s a reason for that. They knew about human nature. They learned from the wisdom of the ages. They set the government up according to that. They set the powers out in the Constitution of the federal government and they basically said if the powers aren’t delineated in this document, then they don’t exist. And then we got the Tenth Amendment that says if they’re not delineated, they belong to the people and to the states. That’s fundamental to everything else.

This is exactly why I support Thompson.

People – mostly liberals – talk about the Constitution being a living document. It was not meant to be for the very reason that Thompson brought up. Even though our times might be different, one thing has remained the same since the dawn of time, and that is human nature. Human nature is essentially the same, no matter how enlightened we like to think we are. That is exactly why we need to stick to the limitations set forth in the Constitution and not sell our freedom for perceived benefits of federal programs.

Well, tomorrow’s the big day: the New Hampshire primary.

My predictions: McCain will win handily, followed by Romney. Giuliani will barely squeak by Huckabee for third. Thompson will do better than the 1% polls show him with, but not enough to place in the top slots.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not usually good with predictions.

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For certifications like 350-001 and 642-523 , you only have to go through the syllabus of 642-825 and 646-203 once. That would be more than enough. With these courses behind you, you can also proceed with 650-251 and 70-297. Even 70-620 is not that hard anymore.

Now to get down to business.

After the elections in November of 2006, I wrote my reflections of the state of the Republican Party. If you are new here, you might want to take a look at it, just for frame of reference.

The bottom line was that it was time for the Republicans to lose because they had betrayed the values that got them elected in the first place.

Much to the chagrin of my more liberal readers, the GOP did get elected by the American people in to a majority. Dare I say that was an endorsement of their platform at the time, which included: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment, an anti-crime package, welfare reform, parents’ rights, stronger child pornography laws, middle class tax relief, legal reform, small business incentives, capital gains cuts, national security, term limits, and cleaning up the corruption in Congress, and then some. It’s all here.

Those values were winning values. It isn’t the voters that changed, it was the GOP. The politicians failed to live up to their promises. (I know, there’s a real shocker!)

My point in bringing this up is that the Republican Party is now at a crossroads where they, or we, need to decide what the party stands for.

This presidential primary is about defining the party. Not choosing the most likable candidate. Not choosing the most electable candidate. Not choosing the candidate that can beat Hillary.

It is time to stop trying to game the election. It’s time to choose a candidate that best reflects the values of the party.

Who is that?

Is it Mitt Romney? I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know how he feels about any of the issues.

Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts, was pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-gun control, and pro-tax.

Mitt Romney, presidential candidate, is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-NRA, and anti-tax.

So, which Mitt Romney are you asking me about?

Let me just say, no, Gov. Romney is not the face of the reformed GOP.

Gov. Huckabee, as I have posted about before, is decidedly not conservative on issues such as taxation and government programs, and he hopes to win a free pass on examination of his record by playing the God card. No thanks.

Rudy Giuliani has the tough on crime persona, but he is pro-gun control and too liberal on all of the social issues – alienating two of the larger GOP constituencies.

And poor John McCain caused irreparable damage to his conservative bona fides with that anti-constitutional campaign finance reform legislation, among his other swipes at conservatives.

Ron Paul wins points all over for his pro-Constitution stance. Small government conservatives, and other libertarian factions of the GOP, have been waiting for a candidate like Congressman Paul. And his refusal to play the political game is refreshing to say the least.

My only concern with Ron Paul is that he loses the law-and-order crowd with his stance on legalizing drugs and prostitution. I don’t think that he is the best choice to reinvigorate the party.

The GOP needs someone who can unite all of the factions that make up the Republican voters.

The only candidate that fits that description is Fred Thompson. He is taking small government/states’ rights positions on most issues, he’s for lowering taxes, lowering spending, upholding the right to bear arms, securing our borders, fighting terrorism, and he’s pro-life. There is something about Fred Thompson that pretty much every faction of the GOP can be happy about.

The most common reason given by people who do not support Fred Thompson is the late and rocky start to his campaign. Granted, his campaign has been disappointing, but I do not think that is any reason not to support the candidate that conservatives everywhere can rally behind.

The bottom line: Republicans win when they stand up for conservative values.

That is why She’s Right supports Fred Thompson for the Republican Presidential Nominee for 2008.

Anyway, they made a rather humorous video that sums up my opinion of the GOP candidates in only 2 minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG2DwIVuXr0]

Take a look and save me from posting on each one, though I am going to work on that over the weekend anyway.

You’ll have to wait to read my thoughts on the primary, but I will give you a little – ok, big – spoiler.  I don’t like Huckabee.

Alright, you already knew that.  Okay, how about this, I am torn between Ron Paul and Fred Thompson.  I know, weird combination.

But it gets better.

Then the contestant who was the earliest to enter that correct time slot is named the Grand Wizard with the Clearest Crystal Ball, and is recognized on this website. Global fame will undoubtedly follow but is not guaranteed.

Enter here. Instructions here.

You need not support Fred to enter. In fact, Viguerie does not!