With Thompson Out, Who Benefits Most?  —  The decision by former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson to end his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination removes a conservative voice from the field even as the remaining Republican candidates crisscross Florida in search of votes in advance of the state's Jan. 29 primary.

Thompson Decides To Drop Out  —  Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has told several Republicans that he has decided to drop out of the presidential race and will make public his intentions by close of business.  —  Thompson does not plan to endorse any rivals for now, even though one of his best friends is Sen. John McCain.

Now it can be told- The Thompson story  —  Back in March of 07 at the CPAC convention in DC several former Fred Thompson Congressional staffers told me Fred Thompson was thinking about a run.  Some of his Tennessee cronies had been talking him up too.  —  I reported first that he was eyeing a White House bid.

Actor Heath Ledger dies at 28  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — Actor Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday of a possible drug overdose in a Lower Manhattan apartment, the New York Police Department said.  —  The Academy Award nominated actor was 28.  —  “Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed,” police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN.

OBAMA vs. CLINTON....AGAIN....It's possible — likely, even — that everyone is tired of conversations about whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be more effective if they win the presidency.  That's doubly true since it's essentially unknowable at this point.

Clinton's Key Strength  —  Kevin Drum thinks Americans simply don't want to move on: … This is the relevant issue, I think.  I wrote: … My own view is that America's crisis is a very deep one.  The markets are reflecting the fact that seven years of Bush have added $32 trillion to future debt …