NOTA?*

*None of the Above?

WASHINGTON - A new poll reveals a clear leader in the Republican presidential race: nobody.

The AP-Ipsos survey shows nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back any of the top candidates -- Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney. And no one has emerged as the front-runner among evangelicals.

Zogby, long reputed to be one of the more accurate and reliable pollsters, has a much different story:

On the Republican side, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, as yet a non-candidate, has climbed to the top of the GOP leaderboard, winning 22 percent support, compared to 21 percent for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains in third place with 11 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain continues his dramatic slide, from second place in late May to fourth place now, supported by 9 percent of likely Republican voters nationwide.

As far as evangelicals go,

Thompson’s strongest appeal comes from those who consider themselves to be "very conservative,” as 35 percent in that group said they favored the former Tennessee Senator-turned-actor. Giuliani finished a distant third in that group, followed by Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. McCain finishes fifth among very conservative voters.

And even among "mainline" conservative voters, the yet-to-be-declared Fred Thompson is still making a fantastic showing:

Among mainline conservatives - the largest subgroup of GOP voters - Giuliani wins 21 percent, compared to 20 percent for Thompson, 13 percent for Romney, and 12 percent for McCain.

All this, without needing to spend a dime of campaign funds.

Despite what MSNBC and others would assert, the voters do have a choice! Fred Thompson isn't just a candidate we can "settle for," Fred is a candidate we can support!