Schiavo who?

September 14, 2007

Last week, Fred Thompson looked pretty foolish when he argued that Social Security reform is one of the top issues on his policy agenda, but then said he couldn’t remember what Bush’s position was on Social Security two years ago. In July, he looked nearly as bad when he said he couldn’t remember lobbying for an abortion-rights group.

Yesterday, Thompson’s memory failed him again.

GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson said he doesn’t remember much about the Terri Schiavo case that commanded the nation’s attention in 2005 – though he appeared in a “Law & Order” episode ripped from those headlines.

Thompson’s campaign rollout has hit some early potholes, and his nonanswer to a question about the wrenching feeding-tube case seemed to underscore his lack of preparation.

“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said in Florida when asked about the case. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”

Can’t remember the details? I realize Thompson struggles to keep up with current events, but the Schiavo controversy was a pretty big deal — and 2005 wasn’t that long ago.

Considering that Bush’s Social Security privatization push and the Schiavo case were both in 2005, it’s tempting to think that maybe Thompson had just given up on the news for an entire year, but even that’s not true. That same year, he prepped John Roberts for his Supreme Court confirmation hearings — when they presumably went over the Schiavo controversy. (What’s more, a few months later, “Law & Order” did an episode, featuring Thompson, based on the case.)

Maybe Thompson doesn’t realize this, but the knock on him is that he’s lazy and can’t be bothered with pesky matters like public policy. Given the last week or so, it’s almost as if Thompson has decided to reinforce those criticisms.

Of course, selective amnesia seems to be spreading among the Republican presidential hopefuls.

The Schiavo question – still a big issue in Florida – has already ensnared former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also pleaded a faulty memory when a Florida reporter asked him in March if he had supported the efforts to keep her alive.

“I believe I did,” Giuliani said. “It’s a while ago … I am not sure now.”

It’s inconvenient, but these guys can’t play dumb forever. The vast majority of Americans were opposed to government intervention in the Schiavo matter, and the vast majority of the GOP’s religious right base was for it. David Brody, a correspondent for TV preacher Pat Robertson’s news show, said, “I think it goes without saying that if you want to be the candidate for social conservatives you need to do your homework on Terri Schiavo. Nobody is saying you have to go chapter and verse on it but to go generic isn’t enough.”

And that’s really the point. Either Thompson (and Giuliani) will side with the religious right on this, or they’ll side with most Americans. Claiming a faulty memory annoys everyone. Better to just pick a side and go with it.

Right on, CB. I think in the fever of the moment, there was more support for the right-wing position. But once you take people out of the public political controversy, they tend to realize there is no way in hell they’d be keeping their loved one alive when said loved one had little chance of meaningful survival, and that they themselves wouldn’t want tobe kept alive. So without the propaganda, the right-wing position is a really unpopular one these candidates don’t want to be associated with.

  • Of the current batch of GOP candidates, McCain is the only one with a grasp of the issues (though he’s forced to play dumb in order to placate the wingnut base). The rest are empty suits without a suit.

    If there are any credible Republican presidential wannabes, they are staying out of the way of the tsunami of Bush hatred that’s going to wash away anybody running on the Republican ticket this year. McCain’s only in because he’s too old to wait any longer.

  • I’ve been trying to imagine how any of the Republican candidates can possibly win the nomination. Every one of them is horribly flawed, even by Republican standards. Romney looks the strongest if you don’t count all his flip-flops and the Mormon thing. Thompson and Giuliani are both bad jokes, which will become more apparent as people get to know them better. And these are the front-runners.

    Then I remember that they nominated George W. Bush. But back in 2000, even Bush looked better than these guys do.

  • (What’s more, a few months later, “Law & Order” did an episode, featuring Thompson, based on the case.)

    I’ll grant you Thompson barely has a grasp of his own talking points, but let’s not use an episode from a fictional TV show he acted is as proof of anything. They have to remember their lines just long enough to get a good take and then it is on to the next one.

    You are bordering on being one of those Star Trek geeks who want William Shatner to explain Capt Kirk’s behavior in Episode 6 of season 3.

  • Even the latter-day Reagan could use cue cards. I guess Thompson’s failure to do so shows how much he thinks of all of us in Politics Land. I think he needs to forego this last hurrah and while away his remaining days puffing on his pipe by the fireplace, listening to his crystal set.

    Every time they (the GOP and the media) dragged out the zombie-like face of that poor woman, all I could think of is the English translation of the Italian word “schiavo” which is “slave”.

  • I’m sure Thompson’s just playing dumb on this one. Especially as I think his whole answer said something about how it should have been left as a local matter and not a national matter. And that would indicate that he disagreed with the Social Conservatives on this one. Or perhaps he’s just an idiot and didn’t realize what he was saying. With Republicans, it’s really pretty difficult to know the difference.

  • Romney looks the strongest if you don’t count all his flip-flops and the Mormon thing.

    Or the Massachusets thing. And, really, the “flip-flop” thing isn’t something that the base of the GOP actually cares about – its something that they throw around when they are looking for a reason to hate a candidate. The accusations of Romney flip-flopping on issues tend to come from people who have already made up their minds that they don’t like Romney, but don’t want to say that it’s because he’s a Mormon. (Though there are some GOPers I know who do have a strong case – “They told me not to vote for the flip-flopper from Massachusets in the last election, now they want me to vote for the Massachusets flip-flopper? Are they crazy?”)

  • I am conservative on one thing and liberal on others. McCain? I would just as soon vote for Obama because at least I know where is wants to go and so I can plan for it.

    As for Thompson not being able to remember the details of the feeding tube case? So what? Your criticism is false and clearly self-serving. I think you can probably do better. Leave the cheap shots for the cheap politicians and help us find statesmen of principle and not politicians of opportunity, okay?

    Then again, perhaps you want the US to fail in its business? Don’t really care, but I am curious as to what your goal is when you try to attack the man’s memory. I will grant Hillary with credit for awesome recall…when you tell as many lies as she has told you have to have it.

    I would rather have an honest statesman with less than perfect recall than a brilliant liar who will destroy the country I was reared to love who has perfect recall.

  • All the GOP candidates and the democratic hopefuls make Clinton look like a star! Looks like America is in need of a woman President! I think the more these candidates look dumb and dumber… the stronger Clinton’s candidature is going to be. In anycase, I just hope America just goes out and votes this time and truly demonstrates its strong desire for a change – a change for the better!

  • Tim: The Schiavo case was the biggest thing in the news for what seemed like weeks. We aren’t demanding that Thompson remember vivid details about the bill that was rushed through Congress and that Bush rushed back to DC to sign, or about the subsequent court action. If Thompson doesn’t know enough about the issues in this case to be able to discuss it intelligently, it isn’t nitpicking about his memory. Either he’s remarkably uninformed, or he’s lying – take your pick.

    Then again, perhaps you want the US to fail in its business?

    That’s a really dumb thing to say. Why do you hate America, Tim?

  • Well, here’s the thing…this is a man who claims to be pro-life and this was one of the biggest issues in the pro-life movement for some time, with the legislature and the governor of Florida getting involved, with the Supreme Court getting in on the action, with Bush flying back to DC in the middle of the night from Texas. I hate to make this too simple, but I would be willing to bet that a true dyed-in-the-wool pro-lifer remembers Schiavo almost as well as they remember where they were and what they were doing on 9/11, and if old enough, when JFK was shot. It’s just not credible to believe his memory of Schiavo would be so blurry.

    Thompson has shown a remarkable disinterest in details. He can throw out a few bumper-sticker talking points, but when pressed for details on what his plans or policies would be, he just waves it all off. It’s just my opinion, but I think the American people are entitled to have some idea of how the candidates think, how they approach the problems that are facing us, and after this disastrous Bush presidency, are no longer willing to just blindly trust someone to do the right thing. That Thompson seems to think he can just slide through this campaign without subjecting himself to scrutiny, is either an indication of his underlying arrogance, his not-so-underlying laziness, his innate ignorance or something else that is not particularly benign. He’s now blowing off two more debates/forums, so when does he think he will be able to answer to the people?

    The Schiavo thing is not a cheap shot at Thompson’s memory, as much as it is a legitimate question about his truthfulness and his view of just how much he owes the electorate in terms of his positions and beliefs.

  • Who gives a rats behind about Terry Schiavo? I remember hearing the name but until you said feeding tube I did not remember. In truth I do not care and stupid things like that I have no time for. If you want to spend your whole life being consumed by stupid things on TV go for it.

    As for me I am sure Thompson was trying to be nice and did not want to say how stupid the whole thing was.

  • Feeling optimistic for a moment: maybe this signals the demise of “moral majority” politics — two of the GOP front runners can’t even remember what they thought about Schiavo case. Meaning neither of them really give a damn about it, or about what Robertson et al thought about it.

    I’d laugh — but I get some of the same chilly feeling from Clinton and Obama, who sometimes seem to act like “700 Club” watchers matter more to them than their own base does.

  • Uh, Edward –
    This Schaivo “thing” is pretty consequential & symbolic of the huge divide between the fundamentalist right wing and the rest of the country.
    It would take too long to fully explain in a comment, but this is a case where the entire (Republican) political establishment intruded into a personal, private family matter that was proceeding according to established law. It was wholly unprecidented.
    Bush got on a plane & went to Washington to sign off on intrusive legislation involving ONE brain dead woman. In contrast, when Katrina was destroying New Orleans, he was going to a birthday party & strumming a guitar.
    This was a big deal.

  • Thompson is a Reagon clone. Reagan could not remember most things either and Grandpa Freddie is experiencing memory loss. He may have alt….

  • I’m 36. Saw this Shiavo headline and had to scratch my head and wonder, at first, why that name sounded familiar. Too bad everybody isn’t as perfect as you people seem to think you are with your steel trap memories. Using 2 year old head lines to test candidates. That’s the retarded state of American politics these days: Don’t discuss issues, just say how stupid the other candidate is… over and over… until the mantra makes you feel good enough.

  • Well, I can understand the “low-information voter,” but the low-information candidate? Not so much.

    It has nothing to do with being perfect, but I guess for some people, the Bush years have really lowered the bar on what is an acceptable level of competence in a president.

    The rest of us believe we are entitled to more.

    And if you think Schiavo wasn’t and isn’t associated with “issues,” to the point where Fred might have to put his thinking cap on to remember what the heck the Schiavo case was all about, you may have yourself to blame for the retarded state of American politics.

  • I don’t know what the Hound Dawg Freddie’s IQ is, or whether his aging brain has more holes in it Swiss cheese, but I think his vague, non-commital stance on these issues has less to do with his memory and more to do with an unwillingness to be pinned down on any issue until his campaign advisors can figure out the best angle to play. He’s an ACTOR, after all. He’s waiting for his cue.

    Furthermore, anyone that can recall every Clinton faux pas and pecadillo from eight frickin’ years ago but can’t remember the huge religio-political fracas and media frenzy over Terry Schiavo in 2005 is immediately suspect in my book. Hell, I remember it, and I was in the middle of dealing with multiple deaths in my family at the time. Yes, it was an issue that shouldn’t have been an issue, but that wasn’t the point. The Republican “let’s turn a fart into a thunderclap” overreaction was the point.

  • It’s a good thing Americans don’t care for the idea of a stupid president, or there’s a possibility that Thompson’s apparent dumbitude might be disregarded in favour of other more positive traits, such as his mellow, middle-bass speaking voice or the smell of his after-shave.

    Oh…wait…

  • Aw… Give the guy a break… He’s got a young wife, he’s got two very small kids (one still a baby)… I bet he doesn’t get much sleep at night. Sleep deprivation would make anyone talk nonsense — just ask the folk at Gitmo.

    • Comments are closed.