Free Republic

Rudy Giuliani invited his high-dollar fundraisers to a weekend-in-New-York-themed meeting this summer, and in between the dinners and the golf and the Broadway shows came talk of a man they all were watching warily: Fred Thompson. Thompson's would-be presidential campaign was creating a buzz among Republicans -- particularly conservatives hungry for an alternative to Giuliani -- and people who were at the meeting said Giuliani's campaign team was relieved Thompson hadn't joined the race yet. "They thought they were getting a break that he didn't get in," said one attendee. "They were pleasantly surprised Thompson hadn't announced, and that was...