Last month, the Insider Advantage poll had Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani tied in Florida. Now, Mr. Giuliani's pulled ahead decisively:

Giuliani: 29%
Thompson: 19%
Romney: 16%
McCain: 10%

My sense is that despite a decent showing in the polls, the Thompson campaign has really gotten off to a weak start. Mr. Thompson is not driving the debate in any way, shape, or form. All the action has been Rudy vs. Mitt.

UPDATE:

George Allen Supports Fred Thompson

With or without an endorsement, the person Fred Thompson owes the most to this election season is former Virginia senator George "Macaca" Allen. If not for Mr. Allen's implosion in 2006, he would have been reelected to the Senate and crowned the presumptive standard-bearer for the continuation of the Bush legacy — a fake-southern, big-spending, social-conservative-friendly good ol' boy. With Mr. Allen out of the picture, though, Mr. Thompson had access to a presidential field devoid of a textbook conservative.

As it happens, Mr. Allen has endorsed Mr. Thompson's presidential bid — doubtless with dreams of what might have been. Meanwhile, the top ranks of the religious right still refuse to get behind any one candidate, united only in their opposition to Rudy Giuliani.

Those religious right folks, likewise, must be dreaming of what might have been. They could have all endorsed Mr. Allen early and gone home. Instead, they've got two candidates they can't stand (Mr. Giuliani and John McCain), one they don't quite trust (Mitt Romney), and one they really, really want to get behind but just can't (Mr. Thompson). The only holdup with Mr. Thompson? His refusal to support the Federal Marriage Amendment on federalist grounds.

Fred Thompson on SNL

Fred Thompson makes his first appearance (as a Darrell Hammond impression) on Saturday Night Live. The joke? Fred Thompson is lazy: