From what I hear, Fred Thompson, the actor-lobbyist-presidential candidate, has been having a little trouble raising money for his campaign. Perhaps, out of the goodness of our hearts, we could chip in and buy him a newspaper subscription.
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he was unaware that a federal judge had ruled last week that lethal injection procedures in his home state were unconstitutional.
Thompson also told reporters he was unaware that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to consider a Kentucky case about whether lethal injection violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Thompson’s support for the death penalty was a major part of his campaign platform when he first ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee in 1994. Asked for his response to the recent Tennessee and Kentucky cases, Thompson responded, “I hadn’t heard that. I didn’t know.”
These weren’t hidden, obscure subjects. Indeed, it was front-page news in Thompson’s own state, home to his own campaign headquarters, which presumably have a few newspapers lying around.
But far more important than Thompson falling behind on this week’s headlines is the frequency with which Thompson has been saying, “I hadn’t heard that. I didn’t know.”
I’ve been keeping a little (or maybe not so little) list going:
* Asked about the Jena Six, Thompson said, “I don’t know anything about it.”
* Asked about his thoughts on the Terri Schiavo matter, Thompson said, “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”
* Asked about hurricane property insurance while campaigning in Florida, a huge local issue, Thompson said he doesn’t “know all the facts surrounding that case.”
* Asked about Social Security reform, one of the top issues on his policy agenda, Thompson said he couldn’t remember what Bush’s position was on Social Security two years ago.
* Asked about oil drilling in the Everglades, while campaigning in Florida, Thompson said he didn’t know there was oil under the Everglades and didn’t know it was an important local issue.
A couple of weeks ago, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said it’s not too late for Fred Thompson to compete for the GOP nomination, but to make up for lost time, the former senator must demonstrate “a command over policy issues.” Fleischer added, “He’s got to knock the policy questions out of the park.”
So much for that idea.