Thompson’s support appears to have been pretty weak if people abandon him this early in the race:

Most of the attention on the straw poll at last week’s Values Voter Republican Presidential Debate was on the big winner ” Mike Huckabee.
The former Arkansas governor deserves the recognition he got from the delegates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
He entered the contest as the favorite of 35 percent of the delegates from pro-family organizations. But he finished the debate as the favorite of 63 percent.
That was quite an accomplishment.
There was, however, a big loser in the debate ” one of the four GOP presidential candidates who decided not to show up.
The big loser was Fred Thompson, who entered the evening as the favorite of 15 percent of those in attendance. When the evening was over, he had the support of just 4 percent. No other candidate lost anywhere near that kind of support as a result of his performance or, in Thompson’s case, his non-performance.
He also lost me.
[…]

Not only did he dodge last week’s Values Voters Republican Presidential Debate, which I had the honor of moderating, but, I’m told, he is also dodging events sponsored by some of the finest, most hardworking pro-family organizations in this country.

It seems it wasn’t just a matter of scheduling. It was a matter of conviction. It was a matter of fear.

If I’m wrong, I invite Fred Thompson to make his case right here to millions of WND readers. WND attracts more “conservative” readers than any other website in the world. We’re ready to interview him on the hot issues of the day. We’re ready to provide him a forum where he can clarify his views and his recent actions. We’re ready to re-evaluate his candidacy based on such efforts.

Wow! Christians are going to make it tough on Thompson! He’s going to have to dance to their tune on all issues or they aren’t interested. I wonder if a candidate can get the nomination without pandering to the Christian right. Does the candidate have to tell them that he will pass a marriage amendment even knowing he won’t be able to do it? If they make this a deal breaker issue, then they really must insist that the candidate they endorse has to tell them how he intends to fulfill his promise with a Democrat majority in the Senate.
I believe that Thompson is the most conservative of the candidates in the top tier and that he’s a good fit for the Christian conservatives who are federalists. Those who want the government to solve our problems, might want someone like Huckabee. I really do want a Reagan conservatives who believes that government isn’t the solution to our problems. I want a Republican president who remembers Reagan’s famous quote and agrees with it:

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

But if the conservative Christians really want to pass a marriage amendment, then they should be seeking to elect Senators who vow to support the amendment. That’s the only way they are going to get it passed.