From an email I just received from Fred Thompson about where he goes from here:

Yesterday was an amazing day! We got a ticket to the next dance!

We beat expectations and the “experts” and finished third.

I started on the Iowa bus tour nearly three weeks ago. We barnstormed through more than 50 cities and towns, covering many miles. I visited town squares, diners, fire stations, local newspapers and more.

I took my message directly to the people and they responded…and that’s why we are going on to win this election. After two national debates in New Hampshire over the weekend we will be heading to South Carolina. [emphasis mine]

So much for the “he doesn’t really want it” meme, and the “he’s going to drop out before New Hampshire and endorse McCain” story pushed by the Politico and repeated ad nauseum by other media outlets yesterday, which could have very likely depressed the pro-Fred vote in yesterday’s Iowa Caucuses (though I prefer the RedState term “Hawkeye Caucii”).

The media, of course, couldn’t help itself. Nearly all of the media coverage of the Republican race was focused on Huckabee, Romney, and… McCain. Not 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, but rather 1st, 2nd, and 4th. The media’s refusal to give Thompson’s campaign a fair shake is so far off the charts at this point that it is laughable.