Word around town is that Fred Thompson is not drawing the crowds you think he would.

A friend of mine went to a rally in Iowa and he said the crowd was tiny and that there was very little enthusiasm.

I wonder if joining the race so late negatively impacted his chances to even be a contender.

I haven't researched the polls yet, but I bet he's not doing that weell.

It could be nothing more than just that location that wasn't 'drawing the crowds'.

The real telling point will be who starts getting the party backing. Remember '04, when Howard Dean pretty much "had the presidency clinched."? And then he did the "Yeeahhhwww!" and it was all over for him. All of a sudden, John Kerry (who drew at most 25 - 35 people per rally previously) was the king of the hill. I actually saw footage of a Kerry press conference where reporters started leaving 5 minutes into him speaking...then after the fall of Dean, he became the big all star candidate.

It could happen that way for Thompson. At least Thompson has a fairly big following, and his numbers have gone up substantually since he officially entered the race. We aren't even voting for another 12 months...there is plenty of time for him to catch up.