I saw more unbridled enthusiasm for Thompson from readers months back. E-mailers loved the commentaries when he was doing them regularly. The tone and the substance. That wellspring of fondness hasn’t evaporated, but increasingly some of those same people seem to be wondering if Fred’s ever really going to happen.

That’s not to say he won’t or that they’re aren’t hardcore Fredheads — there are. But it’s just hard to talk about him when you talk about the field when he’s just not faced the same tests yet — debates, the stump, the fundraising, etc.

We shall see. May the best man (conservative leader) win.