Discussing Presidential candidate Fred Thompson - 9.6.2007.1

Normally I would not go over the details of any particular candidate for President of the United States or in this case the primaries, but with the late addition of Fred Thompson, of the Republican Party, I'll make an exception. Now this is not to say that I'm picking any candidate or that I will be providing endorsement to anyone. It's simply that the attention Thompson has gained over the past several months based on his intention to run for President and his current rankings in the polls have not been balanced with information on his views and political platforms. In an effort to provide balance I plan to go over a couple of points stated on his website.

The website for Fred Thompson is Fred08.com, and is a very well designed website. The site takes into account that not everyone can read the small fonts often found on other candidates sites and is very plainly laid out. Getting from one section of the site to another section is a very simple process. While the site is set up so it's easy to traverse it is not deep in information. It does give an interesting overview of the platforms that Fred Thompson plans to promote.

The introduction video, which is featured on the site, does a decent job of going over what it is that he stands for. Perhaps one of the best ways to sum up his entire approach is to quote

A government big enough to do everything for us can do anything to us.

The video goes on to state that Thompson believes in a strong stance against terrorism, both on the domestic and international level. And that America must provide a united front against this threat. Beyond the issue of terrorism there are several other issues that are addressed. These include fixing Social Security, finding new innovations to reduce the need of foreign oil and improve the nation's energy security, improving education, providing affordable health care to the general public, reducing government red tape, protecting the borders against illegal immigration, lowering taxes and reducing government spending.

All of these items are matters that Thompson believes.

Need solutions that extend beyond the next election cycle.

While this viewpoint is rarely spoken by many of the candidates, regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat, is somewhat belied by some of the statements made by Thompson. One of the most often used (with some minor variation) quotes by Thomson is that of

Occasionally, doors have opened to me, and I had sense enough to see that they were opening, and I would walk through them.

Mr. Thompson is hardly new to politics, of course. Previously he served two terms as Senator for Tennessee. He makes a great point of mentioning that he was the first in his family to go to college and that during his time in college he worked to pay for his education. As is well known Mr. Thompson, quickly made a name for himself as an attorney, which led to his work in Watergate. It was that involvement that ultimately led to his defense of the titular character featured in the movie Marie, which led to his appearance in 18 movies (including Die Hard 2, The Hunt for Red October, and many others), and his long-term television role on Law and Order.

Fred Thompson is perhaps the most publicly known, presidential candidates at this time. His visage is immediately recognizable by perhaps 70 or 80% of the population today. Given these factors, he has gained a strong position in the Republican primary race. Whether or not, this is enough to gain the Republican ticket and to be able to run effectively, versus the Democratic candidate is still unknown. Further details on how he plans to fulfill the goals he has outlined in his video are basically unknown.

The one general and consistent fact that is known is that he is a federalist. By this is meant that he believes the federal government should have limited authority in certain matters. Perhaps one other factor that can be said is that in comparison to all the other candidates and the positions currently being proposed. Thompson holds a centrist view.

Essentially, this is the full amount of information that I was able to garner from the website for Fred Thompson. There is one other factor, which the website states. Thompson is looking forward to hearing questions from the general public. To that end, I will be writing up a series of questions similar to those that I have created previously for several others of the presidential candidates. I look forward to seeing the responses by Fred Thompson. As with my previous letters to the candidates I will provide unaltered my questions for this candidate, and any response that is received.

This is what I know now, now it's your turn to find out more. Remember, your vote counts, and if you don't use it you can't complain on what you get!