Mitt Romney is pulling his broadcast advertising from South Carolina and Florida (h/t Drudge).

This could help Fred’s Fort Sumter strategy.   I might have been wrong about Huckabee’s descent, as he seems to remain above 20 percent in key states.  By conceding South Carolina, though, Romney may end up driving soft supporters to Thompson, and that might be his strategy.

With McCain, the media darling, rising, Romney could hope to bump up Thompson’s numbers in the Palmetto State.  If Fred wins SC and Romney wins Michigan, where he’s concentrating his efforts, he’ll slow McCain’s Straight Talk Express.

The strategy could backfire if Thompson parlays a South Carolina victory into free media and big surge in the polls.  At this point, though, having lost New Hampshire and Iowa, it might be Romney’s best hope.

Robert Novak reported earlier today that Romney’s campaign “is at death’s door.”