Fred Gets Mad...

And so am I.

What do you do when you're desperate, when you know that you are lacking in substance and devoid of serious gravitas?

Why run push polls against your Republican opponent, of course:

Fred Thompson Gets Mad

By Joel Achenbach
PROSPERITY, S.C. -- You rarely see Fred Thompson get too riled about anything, but steam was near about shooting from his ears today when he heard at a campaign stop that some of his supporters had received "push poll" calls from a group supporting Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

At a steak house in this small town west of Columbia, a man in the small crowd told Thompson that many people had gotten such calls in the past 24 hours. Thompson asked anyone who had received such a call to raise his or hand. At least a dozen hands shot up. The former senator said he'd heard of push polls accusing him of supporting partial birth abortion.

"They're taking the most outrageous, easily disproved things that they can come up with. It's amazing to me. Its so ham-handed," Thompson said. "I had a 100 percent pro-life voting record over 8 years."

Trey Taylor, 41, told The Post that he'd gotten a call in which, after he'd revealed his preference for Thompson, a recorded voice said Thompson had lobbied on behalf of a "radical" pro-abortion organization. The recording then cited Huckabee's anti-abortion record.

Speaking with reporters, Thompson looked like he was ready to strip the bark off Huckabee. He suggested that Huckabee isn't trying to "win the legitimate way" by focusing on the issues. At the most recent debate, he said, "I confronted him man to man, with regard to the issues. This is the response I get."

Not only does Huckabee govern like a democrat; he's campaigning like one.

So, what's Romney afraid of?

In a "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" moment, the story that Fred would concede and support John McCain has been proven to be a total falsehood. The rumor, which was initially reported to be coming from officials "close to the Thompson campaign" did not come from the Thompson campaign, nor anyone connected with it. The question remained, who would put out such a rumor?

From here, via The Corner:

Published reports that Fred Thompson soon will withdraw from the Republican presidential contest and endorse Sen. John McCain have been traced in part to Mitt Romney's campaign, trying to stir up strife between McCain and Thompson.

Why the dirty tricks, Mitt? Are you afraid of running on the substance of your convictions and ideas?

Oh wait. There is no substance, is there.

Carry on.