Okay, so we made a mistake.

Like everyone else in America, we all thought that Fred Thompson was that guy on CSI -- strong, wise, a natural-born leader, a guy ready to step into a crisis and bring calm and reason. Six months into his presidential campaign and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between Thompson and a roast beef sandwich. To say that we are all a little disappointed is a vast understatement.

More importantly, however, we now have to re-cast our ultimate Republican ticket. Still at the top of the ticket is mastermind and political genius Mitt Romney. As his Vice President, the Right Reverend Michael Huckabee. The Democrats will have more than a little trouble beating this ticket.

Though we originally liked Thompson's ability to draw southern conservative voters, we now project that Thompson is dead in the water and Huckabee has proven he can carry the banner of the religious right.

As we mentioned several months ago, we believe that Romney will be unable to convince the deep south and far religious right to vote for him because of his Mormon faith. Forget what some may say about his flip-flopping on abortion as being the reason. The heart and soul of the concern over Romney has nothing to do with the change in his abortion stance. Clearly, Romney is against abortion. His change only reflected a resolution of cognitive dissonance as his personal belief has always been against abortion. Now his public and personal belief are in alignment.

No, the real reason southerners will have a problem with Romney is because for the last 150 years, preachers have been convincing their religiously conservative congregations that Mormons are as evil as the devil himself and that they all need to be burned at the stake. Now Joan d'Arc shows up in a suit and tie looking an awful lot like a true conservative and there are no other legitimate choices that can last the day. They know Romney will keep his word and is as strong a family man as can be -- in fact, just last week the preacher was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to so Romney even looks straighter than the messenger of doom.

But still, religious conservatives are just not ready to vote for a Mormon presidential candidate. They really don't know why, but they just cannot bring themselves to do it.

So the back room phones are ringing.

"Mike," says one republican strategist. "You don't have the money or the national support that Romney has. Heck, Romney is about ready to spring after he wins Iowa, New Hampshire and Michigan. His buddy Jeb is about ready to deliver Florida to him and now we even have Bob Jones the 3rd endorsing him.  The writing is on the wall, but I have a plan."

"You see," he continues, "Romney is still unsettled in the South. He might win every other state, but those southern baptists just don't trust him. Some thought that Thompson might carry the southern vote, but he isn't a real Christian, so a Romney-Thompson ticket won't do Romney any good."

"So what's the point," Huckabee responds.

"Just listen," the strategist says. "Every good candidate has to be able to deliver. You won't be able to deliver nationally for the party, but you can deliver regionally for Romney. With you, Romney can take the south and put other Christian Conservatives across the nation at ease knowing that Romney has a Baptist preacher by his side. Your place in history for the next eight years is by Romney's side. After that, the door swings open to you and you take the next nomination."

"But I want to be President."

"Sure kid, and I want to be Walt Disney," the strategist whips. "If you want to be in the national limelight, you need to pay the dues. Don't forget, Romney is a company man and has deep support despite the fact that most don't know his name. The only ones who need to know his name are the movers and the shakers and he is their heir apparent. He is fiscally sound, he has a strong business and moral background, he has a history of being a crisis manager. In all, he is what we need right now. Your time will come, but only after you have paid the piper."

"Okay, so I wait eight more years. But how do I guarantee myself a spot on the ticket?"

"First, you have got to stop with any more Mormon bashing. If you haven't noticed there is a Mormon who is leading the Democratic Senate, another who has flown in space, Glenn Beck is getting great ratings, Larry King married one, Sean Hannity adores them, and Marie Osmond gets headlines by fainting on a ridiculous dance show. Heck, even Gladys Knight converted. Let's face it, Mormons are here to stay. There are too many of them to exterminate or ignore and they keep growing in number, so you are only doing yourself a disservice in the long run by trying to demonize them."

"Okay, I'll soften the rhetoric. He has his beliefs and I have mine. He's going straight to he** after we die, though."

"Sure, I know, I know, but for now, let's just keep it at an agreement to disagree on the religion issue. Let's handle it just like he was Jewish. You know, we all love the same God, yakkity-yak, blah-blah, etc., etc."

"Got it. What else?"

"Use the Mormon thing to convince your peers that he can be trusted. Sure, we all know we disagree on the concept of Trinity, but we all know those Mormons are about as pure and clean as the driven snow. At least you can trust them. Heck, the Romneys even look like Ozzie and Harriet. I mean that hair doesn't move -- well that's just off the topic, but you get my drift. Emphasize the trust factor. If Howard Hughes wouldn't trust anyone else, neither should we as Americans. At least he is a man of his word."

"So if he says that he has changed, we can trust him to keep his promise. Right, got it. Anything else?"

"Campaign to either win or come in second in South Carolina, but come out attacking Gulliani, not Romney"

"Why's that?" Huckabee asks.

"Romney needs to beat Gulliani in South Carolina to become the clear front-runner. You have a shot at winning or coming in second. That will guarantee your spot on the ticket as it will show you can really deliver regionally. If you can't finish strong in South Carolina, Romney will be looking for another southerner. You don't want that."

"What about the other states?"

"Are you telling me you have twenty million just laying around?"

"No, but I do have three dollars my grandmother sent me."

"That's my point," responds the consultant. "Win a few southern states. That is within your reality. That makes you a player for the VP spot. Help Romney bring down Gulianni and Thompson and you have a guaranteed spot on the ticket."

"But I am up to four percent in Nevada."

"Mike. That and a bowl of popcorn will get you a bowl of popcorn. If you want to win this game, you have got to follow me. Understand?"

"Sure. I'll do it for a chance at an uncontested spot in eight years."

"Now you're talking."

You see, the stage is about to be set for 2008. Romney and Huckabee will be partnered up to make sure the south goes Republican. Romney will take care of the rest of the country.