I'm Not a President but I Play One on TV

Not so well said, Fred -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Before I talk about Fred Thompson, I'd like to briefly mention the Larry Craig fiasco. It appears that Arlen Specter has encouraged Mr. Craig to rejoin the Senate and fight for his position. To me, this is a "no win" for Senator Craig. The very fact that there is a "he said/he said" discussion of what went on in a men's room is pretty well career-ending for a "values-based" conservative. I find it interesting that two bloggers have said that Craig is guilty of "weakness" rather than "hypocrisy". Craig has vehemently condemned gay behavior and yet does it himself, in airport bathrooms no less. The "weakness" proponents remind me of Roman Catholics who believe it's alright to be gay as long as you don't act upon it -- thus putting homosexuality in the same category as pedophilia, necrophilia or bestiality. It's a love that dare not speak its name, and only then at a men's urinal if it must be spoken at all. Thank you for the clarification, Catholics (and some fundamentalist Protestants). It's attitudes like this that turn gay men (who should have nothing to apologize for) into lying, sniveling, lavatory freakazoids.

"Weakness" my ass. Larry Craig is demonstrating h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y and deceit at its very worst.

Now to Fred Thompson. This 65 year old sometimes senator, sometimes "Law and Order" actor is finally going to join the race for president. He's already missed about 5 Republican debates -- don't think this has gone unnoticed by the other candidates. Thompson has a hard-charging wife, 24 years his junior who is serving as his quasi-campaign manager. There are some murmurings that she's more interested in the Presidency than he is. Others say that Thompson is too lackadaisical to run for president. When he was a Senator he missed many sessions and hated the 16 hour meetings that covered points of order and other mundane things. To be a good president, you need to love long meetings and policy discussions. Bill Clinton was a 'policy wonk' and it did the whole nation good.

Fred Thompson is a gifted actor, but without a script he is said to be dry, dull and uninspiring. He so far has avoided discussion of any real issues at all. When asked about his platform he gives bland generalities about strong borders, free markets and states' rights. States' Rights? Are we the Dixiecrats circa 1948? The very expression has been nearly purged from the political vocabulary, but Mr. Thompson has brought it out of retirement. As long as he doesn't suggest segregated water fountains I guess we're OK.

Will Fred take us by storm with his Tennessee folksiness and actor looks? Time will tell. Conservative Republicans are suspicious of him because they thought he played "too nice" with Democrats while serving as a U.S. Senator. He'll need to show his chops in some debates and overcome his lethargic speech as well. No one else has taken the GOP by storm, so Thompson may stand a better chance than anyone thinks. We'll have to stay tuned, and see if another actor lands the role of a lifetime.

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