I attended a meeting at the State Capitol earlier today with Governor Mike Huckabee, who later spoke at the Together for Life rally organized by Georgia Right To Life. Governor Huckabee, as always, was impressive. In the private meeting, he tied his Arkansas highway spending program back to the family, saying that the relief of traffic congestion gives moms and dads more time with their children. At the rally, he spoke about his willingness to lead on the issue of life.

My candidate, Senator Fred Thompson, officially ended his candidacy this afternoon. From my conversations with the elected officials who were supporting him, they appear to be gravitating toward either Huckabee or Governor Mitt Romney. I am deciding between the two myself.

Governor Romney was my early favorite. I heard him speak several times last year and even flew to Boston with a small group to have lunch with him. He is enormously talented, with a clear understanding of the economic challenges facing our nation. He has mounted the best organized campaign of any Republican, and like Senators Clinton and Obama, is free of federal campaign financing limits. A very compelling case can be made that he is the best choice to lead our party’s ticket in the fall.

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The Washington Post has identified Sonny Perdue as a potential candidate for Vice President, citing his impressive re-election victory as Governor in a year that went poorly for our party overall. The others mentioned were Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Senator John Thune of South Dakota and former Congressman Rob Portman of Ohio.

With the race for the Presidential nomination so unsettled, it is a little premature to speculate about running mates, but Governor Perdue would be the clear choice of that group and and an asset to the ticket in any event.

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My wife has had trouble making up her mind about who to support for President.  About two weeks ago, after watching her third or fourth Presidential debate, she advised me that she had settled on Mike Huckabee.  She was impressed, among other things, with how he is able to communicate his conservatism in an optimistic and ”nonjudgmental” tone.

Today I told her that, as President of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, Huckabee had signed a letter stating that women should graciously submit to the authority of their husbands.  She paused a moment and then informed me that if I thought that would cause her to abandon the candidacy of Mike Huckabee, I was sorely mistaken.  I told her, no, that I was simply suggesting that she should follow his advice and graciously submit to her husband’s endorsement of Fred Thompson.  That did not work either.

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It was my privilege to participate in the Duluth Fall Festival Parade and Opening Ceremony on Saturday.  Monica Pearson of WSB-TV was our Honorary Grand Marshal, and  the Duluth Fall Festival Committee did an outstanding job as always in making the arrangements.  Without question, my hometown hosts the best fall festival in Georgia.

I spent Sunday afternoon with my family, missing the second day of the Duluth Fall Festival and the Gwinnett County Republican Party’s grass roots barbecue.  My daughter, who turned six this week, celebrated her birthday with friends and kindergarten classmates.

I am told by Gene Callaway that Ron Paul won the Gwinnett County Straw Poll, with Rudy Guiliani and Fred Thompson in a dead heat for second place.  Gene has been named chairman of the Thompson campaign for Gwinnett County.  I am a Thompson supporter and regret not being at the barbecue to show my support for his candidacy.  For more information about his campaign, visit his new website at Fred08 Dot Com.

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I just finished watching the Iowa Republican Debate moderated by George Stephanopoulos, which was rebroadcast this afternoon on C-SPAN.  Mike Huckabee again urged adoption of the Fair Tax, the proposal advanced by Congressman John Linder to replace all income, capital gains, estate and payroll taxes with a 23% national sales tax. 

I knew that Governor Huckabee supported the Fair Tax.  I did not realize that Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney had all ruled it out.  Giuliani’s answer to the Fair Tax question, in particular, was disappointing.  He expressed puzzlement over the Fair Tax’s ”complicated” details.  When Tom Tancredo suggested that the ex-mayor read the Fair Tax Book written by Neal Boortz and John Linder, Guiliani shouted out that he already had, prompting Tancredo to wonder aloud why he was still having such difficulty understanding the details.  I wondered the same thing myself.

I am hopeful that Fred Thompson will embrace the Fair Tax when he enters the Presidential race.  When he was in Atlanta last month, he indicated that he was open minded.

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Fred Thompson won the straw poll at the Fulton County Republican Barbecue on Saturday, taking 36% of the vote.  Mitt Romney, whose campaign mounted a very energetic effort on his behalf, placed second with 29%.  Rudy Guiliani came in third with 20%. 

Rounding out the poll, Gingrich received 5%.  John McCain, Ron Paul and Undecided tied at 3%, and Mike Huckabee got 1%.

I missed this great event because of a family obligation. Otherwise, Senator Thompson would have won by a slightly larger margin.

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Matt Towery of Insider Advantage reports that Fred Thompson has surged to the lead in a statewide survey of 400 registered voters who say they will vote in the Republican Presidential Primary.  With a margin of error of 5%, Towery has Thompson with 36% of the vote, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 22%, John McCain with 10%, Mitt Romney with 9% and Mike Huckabee with 7%.

A similar survey of 400 Democrats has Hillary Clinton in the lead with 35%, followed by Barack Obama with 27% and John Edwards with 16%.  These results mirror the Insider Advantage poll taken earlier this year. 

Four years ago, in the Democratic primary in Georgia, John Kerry defeated Edwards, 47% to 41%, with Al Sharpton in third place with 6%.  Howard Dean got 2%.  George W. Bush was unopposed in the Republican primary.

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A number of you have emailed me about Fred Thompson’s campaign.  I will be sure to keep you posted through the blog, and if you send me your name and address, I will share that information with the Georgia campaign office once it is open.

If you would like to make an online contribution to Thompson’s campaign for President, click here for a special link to his official campaign website.

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There will be a meet-and-greet for Fred Thompson tomorrow, Tuesday evening, at 6:00 p.m. at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce building in Duluth.  It is sponsored by the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber.  The event is open to the public (and the media).  The Chamber building is located across the parking lot from the Arena, and the reception will be held on the first floor, in the John D. Stephens room.

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I learned from the Fred Thompson campaign this morning that the next President will be in Gwinnett County this Tuesday for Sean Hanity’s Freedom Concert.  This is his second visit to our state in less than a week.

The concert is being held in Duluth at the Gwinnett Arena, the best concert facility in the state.  Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Freedom Alliance’s scholarship program for the children of Americans who have given their lives or limbs in service to our country.  The AJC’s Ben Smith has additional details.

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