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Nashville TV news station WKRN talks to the king of Republican fund-raisers, Nashville businessman Ted Welch, about why he's raising money for former Mitt Romney's presidential campaign instead of John McCain - and why he won't jump to support Fred Thompson if Thompson, a fellow Tennessean for whom Welch has raised money in past campaigns, gets into the presidential race.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Nashville newspaper The Tennessean, Welch signals - loudly - that, if Romney drops out of the race, Welch will back Thompson. The Tennessean reports...

"Back in January, I had no idea that Fred was even thinking about it," Welch said. "I went ahead and committed to (Massachusetts Gov.) Mitt Romney because I thought he was the best of the lot that had shown interest in running. It would be very inappropriate and very unfair for me to say to Mitt Romney, 'Hey, Fred Thompson decided to run and I'm gone. Bye.' I'm not going to do anything like that. I made a commitment, and I'm going to stick with it, so long as he is in the race.

"If he, for some reason, were to drop out, my choice would naturally be Fred Thompson."

Welch made sure to say that last sentence several times: If Romney's out, Thompson is Welch's guy.

That's a big deal. Welch estimates it will take $100 million to win the GOP nomination. If anybody can raise it, he can. He was the Republican National Committee's finance chairman from 1977 to 1978, co-founder of the Republican Majority Fund in 1981, and he raised money for former President George Bush in 1988 and 1992. He was the national chairman for Victory '92 and a leader in President Bush's election fundraising committee. Welch was Alexander's key fundraiser when he ran for president.

Thompson, Welch said, is "a dear friend. I love him. I was heavily involved in his campaign for Senate. I've always admired him and enjoyed him and respected him, and none of that has changed."

Ted Welch is a man of his word, so he'll stick with Romney as long as Romney's in the race, but he is signaling to the world that he also likes Thompson, which wealthy folks who already gave to Romney because of Welch may take as a signal to also give to Thompson if he runs.

It also may signal to Romney that he needs to start turning his very successful fundraising into a rise in the polls, or consider getting out of the race. It's not out of the question that Romney's big cash could fail to boost his currently dismal poll numbers. As Chicago Tribune reporter Jill Zuckerman reminded readers in a story in the Saturday Trib, no less a candidate than former economist Phil Gramm demonstrated that bringing in lots of early cash doesn't ensure victory.

Twelve years ago, a Texas senator named Phil Gramm rocked the political world when he reported that he had raised a then-stunning $13.4 million by the end of the first quarter of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite his success at impressing donors, Gramm finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses and dropped his presidential bid before voters could even cast a ballot in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

I was hoping to vote for Gramm back then and never got the chance.

If in the future Romney's fund-raising hasn't translated to strong and growing support that indicates a legitimate shot to win the nomination, he may, too, consider dropping out of the race. If that day comes, Welch is perfectly positioned to broker an arrangement that transitions the Romney campaign operation into the Thompson-Romney campaign, with Romney campaigning as Thompson's vice presidential running mate.