Well, Grandpa Fred gave it a go, and, well...looks like tomorrow may mark the end of the road. Mary Matalin was a good little soldier on the talk shows today claiming that Fred Thompson will come in a strong 3rd place in the caucuses, and it's actually not out of the realm of possibility if you look at recent polling, but come on, this guy clearly wants out.

From The Politico:

When asked what Iowa results he'd be happy with, Thompson held up two fingers, indicating a second-place finish, according to reporters who were with him.

He did something similar on Sunday, when Thompson--apparently in a semi-jocular mood--dismayed his staff by telling reporters that he needed to finish second in the caucuses, a bar that nobody here expects him to cross. [...]

Recently, his stump speeches have dripped with contempt for the press and the campaign process, and this week he even joked about napping. On New Year's Day, he held just one campaign event at a time when the top candidates were going full throttle.

So under what circumstances will he actually drop out? Word is flowing in from sources "close to" the candidate...

Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's Iowa caucus.

Umm, so what do you mean by "poorly," exactly?

"Without a solid third-place finish, there's no point in going on," a Thompson adviser said Wednesday. "It was an honorable race, and he turned out to be a good candidate. The moment had just passed."

OK, so when you say "solid"...?

A Thompson campaign source said there is "a strong likelihood" that if Thompson comes in a distant third in Iowa, with less than 15 percent of the vote, he would drop out soon--most likely before this weekend's New Hampshire presidential debates.

Yeah, so not going to happen. What's most interesting about Thompson's imminent departure is that he apparently intends to endorse McCain.

Friends and advisers emphasized that no deal has been cut to have Thompson endorse McCain. But they note that there would be a logic to doing so soon, in order to help a friend and colleague at a moment when he needs it most. In turn, Thompson might be named attorney general in a McCain administration.

This might make sense from a friendship perspective (Thompson did back McCain in 2000 as well after all) and from a quid pro quo perspective but for conservatives who actually do consider Thompson to be the one true conservative in the race, this poses a real problem. McCain supported campaign finance reform and "amnesty," and for this my conservative father can not forgive him and indeed considers McCain akin to a Democrat; if Thompson drops out, my Dad literally has nowhere to go and his endorsement of McCain will be nothing short of a betrayal.

This is gonna be fun to watch.