Thompson comes to town, national reporter gets confused
Fred Thompson’s visit to Columbia this afternoon has been the talk of political circles all week. According to The State Newspaper, his luncheon speech was a hit with Party Leaders and others who paid to see the would be candidate. That is to be expected. Thompson is likeable and able, plus he gets the benefit of not really being a candiate and therefore does not really have to tackle the issues the same way McCain, Romney, Giuliani, and company have.
What we found interesting, and funny, was the bungled reporting by The Hotline Associate Editor, Marc Ambinder. Now we really like Marc. He is a fair and decent guy, and a good writer. However, he may have been swooning in the Columbia heat (or over Fred) a little too much when he wrote the following in the Atlantic:
Sen. Fred Thompson avoid wading into the state’s perennial debate over the a Confederate flag that used to fly over the capitol building here by agreeing with how South Carolinians settled the issue: they took the flag off the flagpole at the state capitol building and moved it to a museum.
Er, um…huh? After all the effort journalists put in to trying to make the Flag an issue when they come here, you would think they might actually know what the compromise was. Heck, he was at the Clarion Hotel. Walk three block down and my guess is you will see the flag flying right there on Gervais Street. We bet Fred sure wouldn’t be happy if he heard you say that he wanted to put the flag in a museum.
But the fun doesn’t end there. After likening us Southerners to an episode of “King of the Hill” he wrote:
State Sen. Larry Brooks was more enthusiastic. “He’s going to be the next president,” Brooks replied.
What State was the Senator from? We are guessing he meant Larry Grooms…
No harm, no foul. Just thought we would poke a little fun at our friend.
Read the full articles below:
Thompson Supports Flag Compromise, Acknowledges Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling
THE ATLANTIC
Marc Ambinder
27 Jun 2007
COLUMBIA — Sen. Fred Thompson avoid wading into the state’s perennial debate over the a Confederate flag that used to fly over the capitol building here by agreeing with how South Carolinians settled the issue: they took the flag off the flagpole at the state capitol building and moved it to a museum.
And, addressing Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act, Thompson said that while he remained a supporter of the bill and its intentions, he thought the court’s decision was sensible because, he implied, the sham issue ad provision “hasn’t worked” as intended.
“I think Congress ought to amend the campaign finance legislation, keep the good parts, and get rid of this part.
Thompson, a former lobbyist, Senate and Washington lawyer, admitted that he’s no outsider. “I’ve never used the word ‘outsider,” he said.
Thompson’s South Carolina Debut Well Received
THE ATLANTIC
Marc Ambinder
27 Jun 2007 12:49 pm
Listening to South Carolina Republicans chew on Fred Thompson, one’s reminded of the segue scenes in “King of the Hill” where Hank and friends stand on the sidewalk, beer in hand, mutter “Yep” and contemplate the world.”
“Good ol’ Fred.”
“Yep.”
“Good ol’ Fred.” Gonna save the party.
State Sen. Larry Brooks was more enthusiastic. “He’s going to be the next president,” Brooks replied.
Thompson blew into Columbia this morning for a test of the warm South Carolina waters. He brought his wife, Jeri, and young daughter, in tow.
“It’s the day, ” he said to a reporter who had asked whether he’d announce. “But it’s not THE day.” That will come in July. Thompson has to be very careful: if he utters the magic words – “I’m going to run” – then he has ten days to give the Federal Election Commission due notice. So he and his advisers are quick to say, when asked why Thompson was here, that he was simply invited to attend a fundraiser.
At a private breakfast with top South Carolina Republican donors, Thompson said it was not his ambition to become president, but that circumstances had a way of working themselves out. He took questions on immigration, tax reform and nuclear power.
Later, speaking to Republicans at a 50-dollar-a-plate lunch, Thompson was on the ball. He spent the bulk of his speech on terrorism, Iraq and immigration. The substance was about what you’d expect from a conservative candidate, but Thompson, for the time I’ve seen, seemed jazzed up. And the crowd reciprocated with several loud bursts of applause.
“We’re can’t be talking serious about national security while that’s going on,” he said. He introduced a new metaphor for immigration. America, he said, “is our home.” “And we get to decide who gets to go into our home.” More applause.
Scant mention of faith and religion and cultural issues. Thompson said that the guiding principles that made “America the most prosperous nation in the world” are “strong institutions, basic beliefs, the rule of law, a free market system…”
He didn’t quite say it, but I got the feeling that Thompson wants to distinguish himself from other Republicans by presenting himself as the leader for the long-term, the guy who can see around corners, who basis his road map for the future on the principles and values that made America great in the past.
A standing ovation.