More rank horserace speculation: I was in Ames the other day when Thompson made his comment about having to finish second in Iowa. I thought he was joking, but the more I think of it, he may have been right. Unless it’s a real strong third (and we’ll know soon enough), it’s hard to see how he can make even a third place work for him. He’s still broke, still going nowhere in NH, and it’s hard to see how a third props him up until South Carolina. So I’m thinking that if he finishes fourth he might have to drop out this week, and even if he finished a relatively distant third, he might not last that much longer unless he blows the doors off the debates in NH. Then, it becomes a question of who he endorses, and it would probably be McCain, no?