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By Darin H Posted in 2008 — Comments (20) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

I am really hoping that Former Senator Fred Thompson makes a run for the White House. John Fund of the Wall Street Journal sat down the other day to discuss this possibility. (Full Article) I can say that I'm more excited than before about the possibility of a Fred Thompson candidacy.

I don't know how much everyone knows about Fred Thompson's positions, I'll admit that I'm not as familiar as I am with Rudy, McCain, Romney and Brownback, but the Fund article sheds some light:

First he keeps Reagan's 11th when asked about the other declared candidates on the Republican side, not afraid to point out his differences without cutting down fellow Republicans:

Mr. Thompson appears serene about all the speculation swirling around him. "Those running are all good guys, and would be good presidents," he says leaning back in a recliner. "But there are truly vital issues--from the looming entitlement crisis to nuclear proliferation--I'm not afraid to talk about. Lots of people have such a low regard for politicians that they're open to a campaign that would be completely different."

Sounds like a man who is seriously thinking about running.

Next, Mr. Thompson recognizes the never-ending campaign world we live in. And (to me) takes a jab at the PaleoMedia (Mainstream Media to those of you in Rio Linda):

"Politics is now one big 24-hour news cycle, but we seem to spend less time than ever on real substance," he muses. "What if someone harnessed the Internet and other technologies and insisted in talking about real issues in more depth than consultants would advise? What if they took risks with their race in hopes that the risks to our children could be reduced through building a mandate for good policy?"

You’re singing my song Fred!

He's also went through quite a tumultuous period in his personal life from the time he decided to get out of politics and away from the Senate, losing his daughter in 2002. He then got married again and now has 2 more children.

"Within the space of a year and a half, I experienced the ultimate tragedy and the ultimate happiness," Mr. Thompson sighs. "I count my blessings, and I have a real focused sense of purpose now."

The bane of McCain's existence, CFR:

Many on the right remain angry he supported the campaign finance law sponsored by his friend John McCain. "There are problems with people giving politicians large sums of money and then asking them to pass legislation," Mr. Thompson says. Still, he notes he proposed the amendment to raise the $1,000 per person "hard money" federal contribution limit.

Conceding that McCain-Feingold hasn't worked as intended, and is being riddled with new loopholes, he throws his hands open in exasperation. "I'm not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn't just take off the limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately."

That is a position I wish McCain would recognize.

He is no Big-Government Conservative, and I believe would be the candidate with the most Federalist credentials.

Mr. Thompson has also been criticized for failing to back some comprehensive tort-reform bills because of his background as a trial lawyer. Here he insists his stance was based on grounds of federalism. "I'm consistent. I address Federalist Society meetings," he says, noting that more issues should be left to the states. For example, he cast the lonely "nay" in 99-1 votes against a national 0.8% blood alcohol level for drivers, a federal law banning guns in schools, and a measure limiting the tort liability of Good Samaritans. "Washington overreaches, and by doing so ends up not doing well the basics people really care about." Think Katrina and Walter Reed.

Small, lean, efficient government that does what it is intended to and nothing more? Oh yeah!

Recognizing that the Federal bureaucracy will not be a friend to any Republican administration (has he been reading Achance's blogs?):

Mr. Thompson says that while a senator he was long concerned with U.S. intelligence failures. "The CIA has better politicians than it has spies," he says, referring to the internecine turf wars that have been a feature of the Bush administration.

(snip)

The next president, according to Mr. Thompson, needs to exercise strong leadership "and get down in the weeds and fix a civil-service system that makes it too hard to hire good employees and too hard to fire bad ones." He doesn't offer specifics on what to do, but notes the "insanity" of the new Congress pushing for the unionization of homeland security employees only five years after it rejected the notion in the wake of 9/11. "Should we tie ourselves up in bureaucratic knots with the challenges we may have to face?" he asks in wonderment.

On the key issue of the day, the War on Terror and Iraq:

The challenges, he says, are numerous. On Iraq, he admits "we are left with nothing but bad choices." However, he says the "worst choice" would be to have Osama bin Laden proven right when he predicted America wouldn't have the stomach for a tough fight. The costs of Iraq have been high, but they could be even higher "if we have another stain on America like that infamous scene from Saigon 1975 in which our helicopters took off leaving those who supported us grabbing at the landing skids."

Mr. Thompson is especially worried about nuclear proliferation. He serves as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board, along with former Clinton CIA Director Jim Woolsey and former Democratic Sen. Chuck Robb. The board recently received an unclassified briefing that convinced him three or four countries in the Middle East are "on the cusp" of acquiring nuclear weapons should the Iranians carry through with their own weapons program.

He urges continued pressure on Iran, which he says has grave domestic problems. "Iran may fall of its own weight, and we can help that by offering vocal support to dissident groups and making effective use of the airwaves to reach its people."

What about taxes and spending? Taxes too low? Spending not enough?

On domestic issues, Mr. Thompson says a major reason Republicans lost last November was that they aided and abetted runaway government spending. Yet Democrats, he contends, are incapable of following through on their pledges to be fiscally prudent. "Their political coalition needs more revenue like a car requires gasoline," he laughs. "Reagan showed what can be done if you have the will to push for tough choices and the ability to ask the people to accept them."

But Mr. Thompson says those tough choices shouldn't include the tax increases contemplated in the new budget released by Senate Democrats this week. "The phony static accounting the government uses has obscured just how successful the 2003 tax cuts have been in boosting the economy," he says. "Lower marginal tax rates have proven to be a key to prosperity now by Kennedy, Reagan and Bush. It's time millionaires serving in the Senate learned not to overly tax other people trying to get wealthy."

Yep, he's rich (now), but he still understands America, and understands that times have changed for the middle class:

Mr. Thompson says he can compete with Democrats in talking plainly about the anxiety many Americans have about the economy, despite good macro numbers. "Someone who is 18 today may well have 10 employers in their career," he says. "That's completely different from how their parents lived. I would address that insecurity and help people adapt without shooting ourselves in the foot with protectionism and income redistribution. I had 10 employers before I finished law school."

Read the full article for other questions regarding being single in the 1990s and any skeletons arising from that (hint: he says none). The talk of him not wanting to do fundraising/campaigning ("They used to say I moved slowly," he chuckles. "But I move deliberately. I won every one of my races by more than 20 points in a state Clinton carried twice.")

To add to all of these positions is a great life story. He gained a "reputation as a straight-shooter" while as Republican counsel during the Watergate hearings. He had a big role in cleaning up Tennessee corruption in a "cash-for-pardons" scandal (launching his acting career later when he played himself in the movie). And he's been filling in for Paul Harvey this month (which means I need to look up when & where it comes on around here). Once again, read the full article.

I'm ready for Mr. Thompson to jump into the race. He's got the solid conservative principles and the communication skills required for the job. Is he the Second Coming of Reagan? No, no one is. But he may just be the First Fred Thompson.