How Can They Tell He's No Longer Campaigning?

Contact: Vi Shields, Bob Sturm, 703-396-6974, after 6 PM Eastern, 703-906-6542, 703-368-1812

MANASSAS, Virginia, Jan. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- Richard A. Viguerie, the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006), issued the following statement regarding the withdrawal of Fred Thompson from the race for the Republican presidential nomination:

"Fred Thompson could not distinguish himself from all the other Big Government Republicans who were running. He had no branding--no Unique Selling Point (USP).

"A basic law of marketing when introducing a new product is that it must have qualities that differentiate it from competing products. A 35-year Big Government Washington insider in cowboy boots and a red pickup truck is not a successful Republican brand in 2008.

"Thompson snoozed through the campaign the same way he snoozed through his Senate career.

"As Dorothy Parker said on learning of Calvin Coolidge's death, 'How can they tell?' The same can be said of Thompson's withdrawal from the race--how can they tell he's no longer campaigning? He did little and left even less of a mark."

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called "the funding father of the conservative movement" for his role in helping build dozens of conservative organizations.