What’s funny about this piece is the occasion it provides to check our archives. Remember this? Ah, March — when the coming Thompson juggernaut cast its shadow upon the land.

Rep. Zach Wamp, who’s leading the Draft Fred movement, says he expects a decision sometime in May.

But May came and went and no decision was in the offing. Hope sprang again in July…

“My view is that he’ll enter the race at some point just in the coming days,” said Wamp, a key supporter of Thompson.

And so he did, if by “the coming days” Wamp meant “early September.” Now this. What are the odds, do you think, of Wamp being among the disaffected?

“I think he’s kind of done a belly flop,” said an estranged Thompson backer who indicated he will not pull his public support before the “Super Tuesday” primaries. “We’ll just wait till after Feb. 5 because I think he’s going to get beat.”…

“He seems to be perpetuating [his reputation for laziness] instead of defeating it,” another dissatisfied Thompson backer said. “I can’t see me bailing on him, but there’s some frustration.”…

Some of Thompson’s endorsers say they aren’t lifting a finger.

“I’ve kind of pulled back. I’m not not supporting him, but I’m not doing anything,” said a third lawmaker.

What could be even more troubling for Thompson is what that lawmaker said GOP activists outside the capital Beltway are saying: “Now they’re calling me and saying ‘What’s he doing?’ It’s almost like he doesn’t want it.”

The last time he was higher than fourth place in any Iowa poll was Rasmussen’s survey from early October, when he finished a point ahead of Huckabee for second. The new New Hampshire poll from CNN is downright gruesome. Exit question: If he washes out in Iowa, will his House supporters stick with him until South Carolina or abandon ship for Romney or Huckabee?

Update: I completely missed the fact that there’s a page two to this article. Wamp is quoted and notes that Fred’s right in the thick of it. Also: “Thompson’s staunchest supporters on Capitol Hill say his campaign is gathering steam. They note his recent endorsement by the National Right to Life Committee, which has the resources to spend heavily on Thompson’s behalf and the reach to activate grass-roots conservatives.”