Someone I know is a backer of Fred. I’m not sure I have a strong feeling about the former Senator beyond the strong feeling I have against any of the Republican candidates.
But in the event he ends up the nominee, I think it’ll be a good idea to get the full picture about him out there. Here’s a couple of points about him I’ve run across lately.
First, seems that Red Truck story about him looks to be so much political theater. Excerpt from The Carpetbagger Report and Washington Monthly:
True story: it is a warm evening in the summer of 1995. A crowd has gathered in the auditorium of a suburban high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. Seated in the audience is a childhood friend of mine who now teaches at the school. On stage is Republican Sen. Fred Dalton Thompson, the lawyer/actor elected in 1994 to serve out the remainder of Vice President Al Gore’s Senate term (when Gore’s appointed successor retired after just two years). The local TV stations are on hand as Thompson wraps up his presentation on tax reform, in the plain-spoken, down-to-earth style so familiar to those who have seen him in any of his numerous film and television performances. Finishing his talk, Thompson shakes a few hands, then walks out with the rest of the crowd to the red pickup truck he made famous during his 1994 Senate campaign. My friend stands talking with her colleagues as the senator is driven away by a blond, all-American staffer. A few minutes later, my friend gets into her car to head home. As she pulls up to the stop sign at the parking lot exit, rolling up to the intersection is Senator Thompson, now behind the wheel of a sweet silver luxury sedan. He gives my friend a slight nod as he drives past. Turning onto the main road, my friend passes the school’s small, side parking area. Lo and behold: There sits the abandoned red pickup, along with the all-American staffer.
Second, it appears that the future presidential candidate is skirting, if not violating the law on campaign fund disclosure. Here is a Daily Kos post on the topic with lots of links.
