After what seems like months of indecision or indifference to the Hawkeye State's caucuses, Fred Thompson is making an all-out push in Iowa, hoping a second- or third-place finish will revitalize his campaign, reports Stephen F. Hayes for the Weekly Standard:

"We're getting ready to make this not only our second home, but our first home," he told a small gathering of supporters at the Polk County Convention Center on Friday night. Thompson and his wife Jeri chatted with the crowd before making their way through the exhibits at the Iowa Farm Bureau's annual meeting in downtown Des Moines.

Beginning Monday, December 17, Thompson will launch a bus tour that will take him throughout the state. From the beginning of that trip through caucus night, Thompson will essentially live in Iowa, taking only a one-day trip out of the state to celebrate Christmas at his home in Virginia.

"Iowa is critical to our campaign, and it may in fact be everything to our campaign," says one Thompson official. "If we don't do what we need to do in Iowa, it will be tough to compete effectively down the road."

Thompson has said publicly that he needs to finish in the top three in Iowa. Campaign officials say that a strong third place finish--presumably behind new frontrunner Mike Huckabee and former frontrunner Mitt Romney--would likely give them enough momentum to survive New Hampshire and compete in South Carolina and beyond. A second place finish would be a victory. "Just when the interest is there the greatest, is when we'll be here the most."

Read it all at the link above. I don't know if Thompson can do it or not, but there is certainly an opportunity for someone in Iowa. The Huckabee boomlet has underscored the weakness in Romney's support, but the scrutiny on the former Arkansas Governor seems withering already, and it has just begun. Iowans are notorious for deciding late and/or changing their minds, so it's possible a third candidate could break through even now. If someone does, it is almost guaranteed to be the big story out of the caucuses because it will have been a surprise. In these early contests, it's not so much about beating this opponent or that one as it is about beating the expectations.