In an exit poll in South Carolina, which asked who was the conservative in the race, 61% said Fred, 45% said Mitt, 43% said Huckabee; and McCain & Rudy trailed at I think 23-27% & 14%. If you look at the details of the exit poll in SC it shows a significantly different result as to where conservative votes actually went.
I can only conclude, as a Fred supporter, he did not get in early enough to establish a ground game in Iowa and South Carolina. He probably never should have skipped the Iowa debates or caucuses. I think he would have been better off dusting off his old red truck and barnstorm across Iowa for a month. That at least would create some buzz in his campaign, and may have stopped the Huckabee boomlet early on.
I figured Fred would dominate, but he didn’t.
I think you’re right about the late start - the other horses were off and running before he got on the track.