I have no respect for him, either, but plenty of people do, to the extent that a few words by him about Thompson’s Christianity or lack thereof was a major reason that his campaign tanked while Huckabee’s rose.
McCain is in trouble with hard core evangelicals, who are the kind of principled people who will not go to the polls unless there is someone to vote FOR, rather than against. We’ve seen this in the last several elections.
McCain may at some point be able to consolidate the fiscal and security wings of the conservative base, but that matters for naught if the social conservatives stay home because they cannot stomach voting for a purported adulterer.
You are right about that,and you are right about Thompson too. If Fred had that support instead of Huckabe Fred would be rolling toward the nomination in a big way.