Tommy's departure from the presidential race (after visiting 99 counties to get 1,039 votes) has sparked some amusing comments, including a post at Daily Kos that includes this poll:

Thompson Pulls Out: What Does It Mean?

0 Thompson Forgot Where he Parked his Campaign Winnebago

0 Thompson is Leaving Because his Campaign Has Done The Math

0 Thompson is Doing This for the Sake of his Family

0 Thompson is Dropping Out to Throw His Endorsement to Karl Rove's Presidential Bid

Tommy Thompson is out.  In other world-changing news, I'm out of milk.

Well, it was entertaining while it lasted.....

Tommy's secret weapon?Note the T-shirt. A biker rally in Ames, site of the straw poll, for Tommy supporters? Will that be his silent majority?

-- Photo from Cyclone Conservatives.

Tommy said he would be "shocked" if he didn't win. Here's the shocking result:

1. Mitt Romney –32 percent

2. Mike Huckabee – 18 percent

3. Sam Brownback – 15 percent

4. Tom Tancredo – 14 percent

5. Ron Paul – 9 percent

6. Tommy Thompson — 7 percent

Republican legislators want Gov. Jim Doyle to agree not to use his veto power on the state budget, if they ever agree on one.

Fat chance, for a variety of reasons.

A Capital Times editorial correctly says that the Rs have no credibility on the issue, having never complained for the 16 years that Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum were using the same veto power Doyle now wields.

Good point. In those days, the GOP liked the idea of three branches of government with checks and balances.

In fact, Thompson, in his ridiculous campaign for president, brags that he used his veto more than 1900 times.

Good for the goose ...

Here at TPMCafe -- TPM Cafe Article is an in-depth look at what a dope Tommy Thompson is and how bad, very bad, his policies were. And here is a piece I did at DailyKos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/13/8516/64802 This one is probably the best: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/16/931/76813 Of course, none of these is complete. If you have more on Tommy's record, please do share!

That's the question being explored on the widely-read national blog, Talking Points Memo. It's collecting comments from Wisconsinites. Tommy's not doing so well on a National Review blog, either:

Tommy Thompson: Pack it up. Go home. Consider a Senate run in Wisconsin or something. If this Thompson stays in future debates, I may plan my bathroom breaks during his answers, since nothing he says stands out… ever.

Tommy Thompson says he will be "shocked" if he doesn't win the Iowa presidential straw poll. Pajamas Media has the interview.

One of us is out of touch with reality.  I haven't been in Iowa, and he's been there a lot.  But I still don't think it's me who's off.

It's been at least a week since the Journal Sentinel ran its regular "Tommy Says His Campaign Is Going Great" story, so we will fill you in.

First, there's the great fundraising news.

While John McCain is downsizing his campaign and trying desperately to stay afloat after raising only $11.2-million in the last three months, Tommy's bragging about raising less than $500,000.

His campaign says it's great news, since he raised even less the three months before that. His total is now about $800,000. McCain has raised 31 times as much in the last six months, and he's the one in trouble???

Steve Grubbs, Senior Advisor to the Thompson campaign said, “We saw a strong growth in fundraising. Granted, we're not swimming in Barack Obama money, but we have what we need to execute our strategy. We asked our supporters to give us a chance to run the type of campaign we need and they came through for us.”

It makes you wonder if the Thompson campaign can afford all of the ice cream, doughnuts, and other junk food it's promising voters in the next month.

Mary Ann Akers on her Washington Post blog:

"I happily voted against [Tommy] Thompson in all four of his gubernatorial campaigns. I even voted against him when I couldn't pronounce his opponent's name." -- Michael King, in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel op ed.

There really is no polite way to say this, so let's be blunt: Tommy Thompson is running the most pathetic presidential campaign this side of a Prohibition Party bid in Las Vegas.

-- John Nichols in the Capital Times.