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By Mark Kilmer Posted in Face the Nation | FOX News Sunday | Late Edition | Meet the Press | Special Features | This Week — Comments (19) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Fred Thompson was host Chris Wallace's guest on FOX News Sunday, and he talked briefly of his tax cut plans. He's also not going to retool his campaign merely because Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer are unimpressed with the operation and the candidate.

Also on FNS, Carl Levin stressed the need for a "non-binding goal" calling for getting our troops out of Iraq. Lindsey Graham accused Levin and his fellow Democrats of trying to undermine the war effort, going back to the old strategy for political reasons.

On TW, 2008 GOP Presidential hopeful John McCain argued that the choice between human rights and national security, as mentioned by Abu Ghraib Sanchez and Hillary, is a false one. Next on TW, 2008 Dem Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson said that our troops have become targets and we should get out in a year.

On MTP, one of Russert's roundtables – Matalin, Murphy, Shrum, and Carville – sat around a table and argued in sound bytes.

On FTN, on of Schiffer's roundtables -- Robin Wright, Tony Zinni, Larry Wright, and Rick Atkinson – sat around a table and argued in sound bytes.

Finally, on LE, Mike Huckabee said that he'd strike into the Pakistani hinterlands without first seeking Pak's permission. He pledged to make the United States energy independent within a decade. He and Blitzer shared stories of Team Mitt's hijinks.

For the show-by-show review, check below the fold…

FRED THOMPSON ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY. Host Chris Wallace's first guest on FNS was 2008 GOP Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson. He talked about tax cut plans: keeping President Bush's cuts, killing the Death Tax, and he also backed the House Republican Study Committees suggestion for an optional "flatter tax."

Wallace tried to pin Thompson down on the abortion question, taking Huckabee's current position that simply repealing Roe v. Wade with a Constitutional life Amendment would be like allowing for 50 different States to kill babies to their own degrees. Thompson questioned which States would, if freed from Roe, allow for abortion on demand, and Wallace had a gotcha moment: the District of Columbia did pre-Roe. (The DC is not a State, but Thompson did not point this out.)

Thompson asserted that before he started running for President, Huckabee favored returning the power to regulate abortion to the States, the same position as Thompson has expressed. Thompson explained that a Constitutional Amendment would not now be possible; he'd sooner concentrate on what can now be done to save unborn lives.

Another gotcha moment for Wallace. Thompson's position was "exactly pro-choice," as he favors leaving the choice up to the States. Whatever FOX intern concocted that assertion should be sought out and fired. I've seldom heard more bizarre statements on this matter. One mustn't confuse individuals and their governments.

Thompson said simply: "If we can't win the argument [in opposition to abortion]," we cannot win the war and no Constitutional Amendment is possible.

Knocks on his candidacy. Thompson has no experience, which brought Thompson to ask: "Experience doing what?"

Wallace asked Thompson about his sliding poll numbers, and Thompson noted that this is the same sort of thing he heard when he first ran for public office, going from 20 points down to a 20 point lead. Wallace played clips of Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer saying that there was nothing to either Thompson or his campaign, and Thompson was unimpressed. Wallace became very defensive of FOX News.

"They're entitled to their opinion," Thompson shrugged. He cited a new poll which showed him moving from 4th to 3rd in Iowa, and he accused some commentators of "highlighting the negative." Wallace was defensive and he seemed to have trouble allowing Thompson to point out that National Review magazine has said that Thompson had "set the standard for policy" in this campaign.

CARL LEVIN AND LINDSEY GRAHAM ON FNS. Krazy Carl Levin said that the Iraqi government should keep their benchmarks in play. Levin does not expect them to meet their benchmarks. Levin wants to pressure Maliki. Levin does not trust Maliki even if pressured. Levin promised not to cut funding for our troops in Iraq, but he does want a "non-binding goal" of getting our troops out of Iraq by a date certain. This non-binding goal was in a bill passed by the House and held up by Senate Republicans.

Lindsey Graham accused Levin and the Dems of trying to undermine the war effort for political reasons, of trying to ignore General Petraeus's recommendations in order to go back to the "old strategy."

JOHN MCCAIN ON THIS WEEK. Host George Stephanopoulos's first guest on ABC's This week was 2008 GOP Presidential hopeful John McCain. The Republican contestant said that he was "very cautious" in his optimism regarding Iraq. Steph quoted retired General Ricardo "Abu Ghraib" Sanchez as complaining that there had been no political progress in Iraq and boasted that his old boss, Hillary, agreed with Sanchez. McCain explained that they are succeeding militarily and that there has been a lot of progress made of the re-Ba'athification front. He pointed out, as he had at some point in the very distant past, that there "are no Thomas Jeffersons in Iraq. Saddam killed them all."

Steph played a clip of Bill Richardson at some Dem debate blaming Halliburton for this, that, and the other while talking about how we should trade no human rights for any national security. McCain rejected the automatic blaming of Halliburton for everything, and he rejected that human rights vs. national security was a zero sum game. He called such thinking: "naïve."

BILL RICHARDSON ON TW. Next up for Steph on TW was Dem Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson, who explained that our troops "have become targets." Richardson said that he knows the region, he's met with Saddam Hussein, and he freed the hostages (not the Carter-Ahmadinejad hostages). He will have all of our troops out of Iraq in a year.

Steph accused Richardson of lying about the positions of the other Dem candidates on the Iraq war, to which Richardson replied: "My position is clear."

Richardson asked that the Democrat candidates not attack each other. He asserted that he, Bill Richardson, is "positive."

A PANEL ON MEET THE PRESS. On NBC's MTP, one of host Tim Russert's political strategists panels – Matalin, Murphy, Shrum, and Carville – sat around a table and argued in sound bytes about the 2008 election.

A PANEL ON FACE THE NATION. On CBS' FTN, one of host Bob Schieffer's book writer panels – Robin Wright, Tony Zinni, Larry Wright, and Rick Atkinson – sat around a table and argued in sound bytes about the Middle East.

HUCKABEE ON LATE EDITION. On CNN's LE, host Wolf Blitzer talked to 2008 GOP Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, closing on Romney "dramatically" in Iowa.

Huckabee said that Iowans are listening to the "substance of the campaign." He feels that he "touches them where they live."

Blitzer asked Huckabee about Pakistan and Musharraf, playing a clip from President Bush in which the President expressed confidence in Musharraf. Huckabee said that he would demand great accountability and great cooperation from Pakistan.

He called for the United States to take our priority targets in the hinterlands without Pakistani permission.

He doesn't think Israel should "give up the West Bank." (He would not, at least, "encourage" Israel to do so.)

Huckabee said that there would be no "Kumbaya moment," holding hands around a campfire and cooking marshmallows.

Wolf asked him how he would, as President, deal with the Saudis flogging a rape victim. Huckabee expressed concern about the House of Saud, asserting that we're "too attached" to Saudi oil, and we're now "funding both sides" in the war on terror.

Huckabee would make the United States energy independent in a decade.

Wolf asked Huckabee about some Team Romney hijinks. (Oh, they say things.)
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Have at it.