So much for my theory that he was trying to duck the Iraq news cycle and take advantage of a slow month. He’s in, but they can’t formally say he’s in yet because they’re not ready to run a campaign yet:

Republican consultant Mary Matalin, who is advising Thompson, said the announcement will be made when the campaign infrastructure is ready to make the most of the surge in interest she believes will follow.

“He has made up his mind,” she said. “And one can appreciate that planning the announcement of what’s on his mind needs to take place in a deliberative fashion.”

Aides brushed aside the idea that the delay in an announcement is the result of disappointment in fundraising. Initially, reports suggested that Thompson’s goal was to raise close to $5 million in the first month. Later, campaign staffers said the goal had always been $2 million in the first month, and they said that had been exceeded.

Hmmm. Meanwhile, Dan Riehl thinks he’s caught “Ol’ Fred” in a backslide over the LAT’s abortion lobbying story. I think it might be worse than that — he’s trying to pull a straddle, where he denies that he lobbied for the group but then doth protest too much about how lawyers and lobbyists represent all sorts of people they don’t agree with. Works for me but I doubt it’ll work for true-believing pro-lifers. No forced him to take their case, after all (assuming he did take it). In any event, listen to the tail end of the Hannity clip I posted the other day. He emphasizes that Sununu doesn’t remember him ever lobbying for the group — while also making the point about not confusing lawyers’ opinions with their clients. Hmmm again.