Fred Thompson's effort to fly below the radar to raise money and support before his official White House announcement isn't preventing the press from locking on target.

The latest news is that Thompson's fundraising is markedly down, reports NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell. Thompson is expected to report about $3 million next week, down from the $5 million goal earlier floated. There was an "early burst of donations" in June but they've tapered off since, possibly because of his delayed announcement.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post's John Solomon finds that Thompson's 30-year-long legal career has given him an "affinity with one of the Republican Party's perennial targets, trial lawyers," and shaped his anti-federal tort regulation position when he was in the Senate. Thompson received more than $1.5 million from lawyers as a senator and the "trial lobby's political action committee gave him maximum $10,000 donations during each of his two Senate campaigns."

Thompson routinely voted against legislation aimed at "shrinking the size of fees that attorneys could collect and rejected limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, bucking his own party." Recently Thompson has explained his opposition to tort regulations at the federal level as something that should be best left to individual states. Thompson earned the American Conservative Union's middle score of 86 during his Senate career.

Time's Jay Carney writes that one part of his legal career, the lobbying stint for an abortion-rights group, may prove awkward for a candidate positioning himself as a "straight shooter and true conservative." This is part of Thompson's appeal to Republicans, and why many see him as the "cure-all for their party's ills." Electorally, the fall of John McCain has given Thompson's candidacy hope, but McCain has a leaner, more frugal campaign that's still afloat in New Hampshire and South Carolina, according to polls. Still, Thompson's "Southern drawl and conservative voting record are likely to play well in South Carolina" and he'll likely focus on large states. "If Thompson can keep enthusiasm high until he enters the race in the fall, he might be able to turn what was supposed to be a marathon race for the nomination into a relatively brief, four-month sprint."

McCain's campaign got even leaner yesterday after political ad men, Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens, quit the campaign. The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes writes Schriefer and Stevens were vets of the Bush-Cheney campaigns and left because they hadn't been paid and worried about when they would again. McCain had "long planned to begin running ads this fall in early contest states," but may find it harder to do so given the resignations, campaign debt and "difficulty of getting donors to invest in a troubled campaign."

Leaving no good attack line behind, McCain and Mitt Romney pounced on the Obama's diplomacy kerfuffle. McCain said Obama showed "naivete" in advocating direct talks with a host of dictators and mocked Obama's claim that his foreign policy judgment is superior to others' because of his time overseas and multicultural upbringing. "Well, I also think I'm the most qualified to run the decathlon because I watch sports on television all the time," McCain said. Romney said Obama gave an "extraordinarily naive and ill-considered promise."

Bill Richardson said he's met with Saddam Hussein, North Korean officials, and would be open to meeting with others so long as there are "hard-nosed negotiations."

Romney finds himself on the receiving end of attacks from Sen. Sam Brownback, who continues "leaving telephone messages for Iowa Republicans alleging Romney and Tancredo have ties to abortion provider Planned Parenthood," reports Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson.

Get these and today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Elections page.