By any reasonable measure, Fred Thompson, the actor-lobbyist-presidential candidate, is off to a rough start. Particularly on policy matters, Thompson has been confused and uninformed about everything from Social Security policy to drilling the Everglades for oil to the 2005 Schiavo controversy.
But this has to be my favorite.
NBC’s “First Read’ reports that when Thompson was asked Thursday about Louisiana’s “Jena Six” protest of Old South racism on his way into a San Antonio fundraiser, he replied: “I don’t know anything about it.”
Bush fielded a question about it at his news conference the same day, saying the events in Louisiana had “saddened” him. Thompson’s staff said he knew all about the issue but was unfamiliar with the expression “Jena Six.”
Look, there are ways to try and spin a candidate’s unfamiliarity with an issue, but this isn’t one of them. If someone knows “all about” the racial injustices in Jena, La., then that person has to know about the “Jena Six.” Those six young men are the point of the controversy.
It’s a bit like saying you know “all about” the arrest of Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, and others during the 1968 Democratic National Convention on charges of conspiracy and inciting to riot, and then arguing you’ve never heard of the “Chicago Seven.” It just doesn’t make any sense.
As for Thompson’s troubles, the Politico’s Mike Allen notes that the former senator’s campaign has been “plagued by errors.” Someone has even apparently started maintaining a “Thompson’s Gaffe-a-Day Calendar” to memorialize the sayings of candidate
* In South Carolina, a heavily Baptist state, he told reporters at his first campaign stop that he rarely goes to church: “I attend church when I’m in Tennessee. I’m in McLean [Va.] right now.”
* He told a woman at a South Carolina rally that he doesn’t plan to talk widely about his relationship with God on the campaign trail, according to Bloomberg news service.
* In Greenville, S.C., when asked if bin Laden should be immediately killed after his capture, he said: “No, no, no. We’ve got due process to go through.” In trying to fix that, his campaign told Politico that first the government should get as much information as possible, and told AP that he meant “the same rules ought to apply to him as to everyone at Guantanamo Bay.”
* In Florida, where the Terri Schiavo feeding-tube case was a cause celebre two years ago, Thompson told the Tampa area’s Bay News 9 that he couldn’t pass judgment and added: “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.” […]
* In the same television interview, Thompson punted on the issue of hurricane property insurance, a huge local issue, by saying he doesn’t “know all the facts surrounding that case.”
* He also looked ill-prepared when The Associated Press reported from Tallahassee: “Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson seemed taken by surprise when asked Tuesday about oil drilling in the Everglades, apparently unaware it’s been a major Florida issue.” […]
* Thompson’s campaign said he was looking forward to an Oct. 14 debate in New Hampshire, but ABC News had canceled it in order to stay within party guidelines.
(I’d argue that Mike Allen was being generous, and even missed a few examples.)
First, let this be a reminder to all future candidates considering late entry into a presidential race — the sooner you get in, the sooner you can get these unpleasant errors corrected before the real scrutiny kicks in.
And second, have you ever seen a party’s top tier as weak as the four-headed monster of Giuliani, Thompson, Romney, and McCain?