Thompson on top!

The heretofore undeclared candidate has now topped the field.

There’s change at the top in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson earning support from 28% of Likely Republican Primary Voters. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani attracts support from 27%. While Thompson’s one-point edge is statistically insignificant, it is the first time all year that anybody but Giuliani has been on top in Rasmussen Reports polling. A week ago, Thompson and Giuliani were tied at 24%.

It remains an open question as to how Thompson will hold up once he actually enters the campaign and has to compete directly with other candidates. To date, he retains the allure of the new kid in town while GOP voters already know the things they don’t like about the others. Still, Thompson’s rise to the top provides a telling measure of how the other GOP hopefuls have failed to capture the imagination of the party they hope to lead.

Thompson's genius is inherent in the fact that he has chosen to sit out the formal process enough to get his message out in a clear manner, that stood out from the din of the current field of 10 candidates. Thompson's solo appearance on Hannity & Colmes on a night when 10 other Republican hopefuls were duking it out for their literal 15 seconds of fame, when you come to think of it, was a sheer stroke of genius.

Of course, Fred will sooner or later need to declare. But you can bet that he'll remain head and shoulders above the rest, literally and figuratively, when he does.