Fred Thompson campaign (9/5/07 — 1/22/08)

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson ended his campaign today by issuing the following statement:  "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States.  I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort.  Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

I would say Thompson’s best speech in Iowa was made on August 17 at the Iowa State Fair — before he officially entered the race.  As you can see from the title of this post, Thompson was "officially" a candidate for just over three months compared to the more than five months in which Thompson and his "Friends of Fred" were in the flirtation phase.