Maybe, and I hope you are correct, but I think that is wishful thinking. If Fred comes in 5th in Iowa and 5th in NH (a distinct possibility), I expect him to drop out. He will be the first man sitting, and not the last man standing.
Tell you what. I am going to stay with my feeling about this. Otherwise, I have lost any enthusiasm I might have had for the 2008 race.
I hope GOP voters aren’t really as dumb that they would buy snake oil,and doom their party.
There has been nothing brilliant about Fred’s strategy in this campaign. He frittered away his “moment” last summer by announcing late and then appearing disorganized/disinterested. There’s just no fire in his belly, as voters sense it. As you suggest, he’ll fare poorly in IA and NH, and then quietly bow out of the race. Clearly behind, he simply doesn’t have the fighter’s instinct necessary to battle back. . .
I heard him say a few weeks ago that he needed to place third in Iowa in order to remain as a viable candidate. That sentiment would seem to indicate his dropping out if Thursday's results put him in the fourth position or worse.
On the other hand, I guess he's allowed to "flip" on the issue as long as he doesn't "flip-flop."
(My Venn diagram says that even though all "flops" are "flips," not all "flips" are "flops." Sorry that my HTML skills don't permit me to post the graphic.)