The points made around here are well taken, though I should say that Mark Levin’s comments are more a criticism of Will than a defense of Fred Thompson. There’s one point from Fred supporters in my email box that really needs addressing however. Lots of Fred fans (and note: I’m not exactly anti-Thompson myself) seem to think Will and Novak and other critics of Thompson are all exhibiting some sort of inside-the-beltway wagon-circling mentality in criticizing Thompson. I think this is very hard to defend. Of the front-runners, only McCain is more of an inside-the-beltway figure than Thompson. Mark may well be right about Will’s inconsistency in criticizing Thompson but not Rudy, but the idea (offered by readers, not Mark) that Will’s animosity for Fred is simply a product of Will’s establishmentarian mindset is belied by the fact that Giuliani is less of an establishment guy than Fred. Moreover, it’s worth noting if that Will is just a go-along-with-the-crowd status quo Republican, it becomes pretty hard to explain his opposition to the war.