Fred to Turn on Rudy Tonight in Contest for Reganesqueness

A good, old-fashioned, deep-fried Rudy-tweaking from the Fredster scheduled for this evening. Er, wait, that came out wrong. In my attempt to sound folksy and Fred-like, I ended up sounding only kinda dirty. Let that be a lesson to you, Thompson. The colloquialisms can come back to haunt you. Use them wisely.

Fred on Rudy:

"Some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them. I could not disagree more," the one-time Tennessee senator says in remarks he is to deliver before the Conservative Party of New York. "I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them. This is not a time for philosophical flexibility, it is a time to stand up for what we believe in," Thompson adds. […] "With me, what you see is what you get. I was a proud conservative yesterday, I remain one today, and I will be one tomorrow," Thompson says.

Yowza.

Meanwhile, the search for the "Real Republican" continues.

Camp Mitt slaps McCain:

"Only John McCain would criticize a fellow Republican one day and then campaign with a Democrat the next," said Romney's New Hampshire Director Jim Merrill.

McCain slaps back:

"I'm not going to con you," McCain said, attempting to differentiate himself from Romney in a speech to the Republican State Committee.
He was reacting to a Romney claim of representing the "Republican wing of the Republican Party."
"It makes one a bit frustrated to hear someone say that he is the only real Republican," McCain later told reporters.

Giuliani gives a civics lesson:

"Every four years, we let the Republican Party members decide who they think can be the best representative of the party, who we think can be the strong fiscal conservative, who we think can defend the country the best, who represents their values the most. Let the party decide that," Giuliani said after greeting voters at a restaurant.

And, then vows to stay above the fray...while also alluding to Reagan, which will undoubtedly mean that the Great National Contest for Reaganesqueness will continue unabated, with new soundbites galore!

"Everybody wants the nomination. You point out the things that are most important to you," he told reporters Sunday. ... (Reagan) used to have an 11th commandment, that was thou shall not attack another Republican.
"I'm going to try to follow that commandment as much as I can," Giuliani said.

Another round, please!