Pro-life leadership, according to the National Right to Life Committee:

Monday, he said he would not back a federal constitutional amendment criminalizing abortion — a plank of the Republican platform for more than one-quarter century, contending it was more realistic to appoint conservative judges to outlaw abortion or let the states decide whether the procedure should be legal.
“What I have concentrated on is a way to get to the same goal [to ban abortion] that’s achievable. We could not get to first base on an amendment when we controlled both houses and the presidency,” Thompson said. “Now the question is, what do you do about that? Well, I think the answer is to get better judges and to appoint people to the Supreme Court and hopefully someday Roe vs. Wade will be overturned. That’s my goal. That’s my priority,” he said.

There is, of course, a level of practicality to what Thompson says. But there are also things that can be done — restrictions that can be supported, federally, and leadership a pro-life president can provide pre- and post-Roe. So far in this race, Thompson has not sounded like someone who is interested in providing that kind of leadership.

I wonder if the National Right to Life Committee endorsement of Thompson might help Rudy in a roundabout way: Pro-lifers listen to Thompson and respond, “If this is the best pro-lifer the GOP has to offer, why don’t I just vote for the pro-choice guy. He wants ‘better judges’ too.”