May 5, 2007
Fred Thompson's Non-Campaign Rolls On
Actor And Former Senator Explains Why He Could Be President, But Won't Commit To Running
-
Photo
Actor and former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson waits to speak at the Lincoln Club of Orange County's 45th Annual Dinner in Newport Beach, Calif., Friday, May 4, 2007. (AP)
"If I didn't think I could win in November I wouldn't think about it," Thomspon said in an interview with Scott Baker for Breitbart.tv.
Thompson said he "had some thoughts" about when he might officially jump into the crowded field of Republican candidates, but he said he wasn't "ready to talk about that too much."
But, if he commits to running for president, Thompson said he will not do it halfway.
"I'm not interested in winning a primary and losing in November," he said in the Breitbart.tv interview. "I'm not interested in being the tallest midget in the room."
When asked about the Republicans who would be his competitors, Thompson would not go on the attack.
"Some of them I know very well, some of them I don't know well at all," he told Baker. "So I'm not going to pass judgment on them at all."
The former Senator did offer an example of what he thought voters were looking for in a candidate and weren't finding in Washington. Thompson also said voters might find what they were looking for in him.
"I think people are looking for someone that talks straight to them and deliver the news to them whether it's good or bad," Thompson said. "That's what I hope I bring to bear when people think of me in that context."
On one issue, Thompson seems to be in lockstep with the other Republicans in the presidential field.
Like the 10 leading Republican contenders did in a televised debate on Thursday, Thompson has argued against leaving Iraq unless stability is restored. He noted that even when the U.S. leaves Iraq, the world still will be full of danger.
Thompson, speaking Friday night to the Lincoln Club of Orange County in California, sketched a broad agenda that hewed to Reaganesque themes — a strong military, a limited federal government and robust free markets.
Thompson also warned that people in the United States must be prepared to sacrifice in a world threatened by terrorism and hostile governments.
"Every generation has made sure that it did its part to make sure that it did endure, with the sacrifices they made. And now it's our turn," Thompson said.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Video and Galleries from Politics
-
Video
What Is Obama Looking At?
-
Video
Obama Wraps Up G8 Summit
-
Video
G8 Summit On Environment
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 90 CommentsPosted by cfin5 at 12:09 AM : May 06, 2007
Why? Got your right wing anti-whoever a democrat mentions notes ready to try to ridicule anything I say or any name I bring up? Why should I play your childish game when entertaining you is not my goal here. Telling the truth is. I could care less if I bore you or not and if you see my posts as nothing but anti-republican ones then you obviously haven't read the bulk of them as many have little or nothing to do with the republican party (small r) or you just ignored the ones you didn't want to try to understand.
Posted by buhk at 12:30 AM : May 06, 2007
The only and I do mean only reason Bush ever got elected in the first place was because Rove mobilized the more moronic people of the Christin right wing. Yes they are a relatively small part of the republican party (by the way, I rarely capitalize either party's name), but they are essential (irreplaceable actually) to any republican victories in national elections and they demand their pound of flesh for their support, usually in the form of supreme court nominations or religious friendly laws like the faith based joke of programs that Bush put out there. I have no problem with people having a religion. This is America and people can worship any book of fables they choose, but what I object to is when these religious people stick their noses into the government. There should never be a mix of religion and politics, because it always cheapens and demeans both whenever it happens.
My complaint with bush is that he acts like a conservative to get elected, then there is little conservative action for 6+ years. The tax cuts were a good start, but need to be forever to be worth anything. The war against Islamic fascism is an unfortunate but necessary evil.
And yes, if it is admitted by the libs or not, Iraq is a critical front in this war. Bush's war position does not make him a conservative; it simply means he is not totally oblivious like many on the other side of the isle.
Thompson strikes me as less driven by the superego and more driven by personal pragmatic conservative conviction. He has the support of this bucked tooth, Bible reading, anti-intellectual hillbilly. Thank God Thompson is to the right of Bush on many issues.
None of the other candidates can hold a candle to Thomspon in my opinion.
Should I be excluded from participation in government because I am religious? How is that not religious discrimination?
I think you believe you are a harbinger of liberty, but if your beliefs were put into policy it would be quite discriminatory.
Oh yeah.. I get it. Freedom for all... well... except Christians. We can exclude Christians.
Should I be excluded from participation in government because I am religious? How is that not religious discrimination?
Posted by bhmortim at 12:46 AM : May 06, 2007
Certainly not. I understand that most people in this country follow one sort of religion or another and again, I have no problem with that. Perhaps I can be a bit clearer here though. What I object to is when people of one religion or another seek to impose their religious values on others who don't hold the same beliefs or to teach their religious tenets as truth in the public schools. People on the extreme right of Christianity, such as many of Bush's most loyal supporters, try to do things like oppose ga*y marriage or teach creationism in the schools. That is attempting to impose their religion on others who don't follow their religion or, like me, who are atheists. That is un-American.
Posted by buhk at 12:56 AM : May 06, 2007
And I can appreciate that sometimes my tone does get a bit....hostile...but that is mostly because I'm more used to dealing with the more right wing type Christian on here. I mistook you for one and I'm not above apologizing for the offense. Actually as for your descrpition of me it's pretty close, except I hate tofu! lol!
Where do you draw that line? Is it offensive to you just to hear the beliefs of others? My understanding of America is that we are a pluralistic society. We are all free to speak. (please see amendment number 1) You are also free to not listen. There are many many voices in our society that I don%u2019t listen to or give any respect to. I don%u2019t have to. But they are free to speak whatever garbage they want to.
Shouldn%u2019t folks that believe gay marriage is wrong be allowed to express their position? Shouldn%u2019t those who believe that God created the heavens and the earth be allowed to share that position?
You don%u2019t have to listen to or believe anything you dont want to. But to say that an individual or an institution does not have the right to express a position is un-American.
You don%u2019t have to listen to or believe anything you dont want to. But to say that an individual or an institution does not have the right to express a position is un-American.
Posted by bhmortim at 01:06 AM : May 06, 2007
Of course, in it's proper place and time. Those places do not however include public schools. Also certainly people have a right to say they are opposed to something like ga*y marriage based on their religious feelings and values, but that does not give them the right to try to stop others who do not believe in those same religious feeling from entering into ga*y marriage. It's none of their business if ga*y people want to get married, so yes speak out against it, but free speech does not stretch to imposing your beliefs on others by trying to stop them from freely living their lives according to what they believe. The same goes with creationism. If you want to believe it, fine, but it is not science and should only be taught in philosophy classes, not biology and archeology.
My kids watched what is in my opinion a VERY religious movie in school. They saw an inconvenient truth. They saw this in Science class, Language arts, and in health.
hmmmmm. How different is pushing this theory on state bucks from teaching that some people believe the earth was created?
These are both religious issues. Both require faith in a set of tenants, and ritual action in response.
Posted by bhmortim at 01:16 AM : May 06, 2007
Nope. One is accepted science and the other is not. An Inconvenient Truth is completely scientifically based (as is evolution), whereas creationism is not. Global warming and evolution can both be shown to be true by repeatable scientific experiments and neither require any faith at all any more then the multiplication tables or the structure of the Solar System. Creationism on the other hand is completely faith based and has no credible science behind it, for a very good reason, it's a myth. It is not science. Besides if you want your children to be taught creationism as explained by your faith then you're free to send them to your church school. However if we allowed your version of creation to be taught in public schools, then we'd have to allow the creation stories that are told from all other religions too (and there are thousands of them) and there'd be no time to teach anything else.
and last I heard the science was still out on global warming and what the cause is. It is after all a theory.
I'm sorry. I didn%u2019t mean to question a tenant of your personal faith.
and last I heard the science was still out on global warming and what the cause is. It is after all a theory.
I'm sorry. I didn%u2019t mean to question a tenant of your personal faith.
Posted by bhmortim at 01:28 AM : May 06, 2007
Well perhaps I misunderstood, but from the tone of your question I believed you are a person who believes in creationism. If not then I apologize and change my answer to include only others who believe that way.
No there is really no dispute left the global warming is real, but only that some scientists still hold that it is natural and not necessarily human caused. That said more and more of them seem to be moving over to the human caused side all of the time. And again, global warming is not a matter of faith, it is science.
Are you not asking others to completely change their life based on your belief in this theory? Tax gas more, stop building power plants, use curly light bulbs, let it mellow if it's yellow, etc. I would say that the enviro religion is attempting to use state power to force their beliefs on me when it is far from proven.
Just saying all scientists agree does not make a theory true as scientific fact. Scientific consensus at one time was that the earth was flat. Scientific consensus is really an antithesis to the scientific method.
Just saying all scientists agree does not make a theory true as scientific fact. Scientific consensus at one time was that the earth was flat. Scientific consensus is really an antithesis to the scientific method.
Posted by bhmortim at 01:42 AM : May 06, 2007
Personally I don't do scientific experiments in that field myself. However people I am friends with and whose opinions I trust do and I believe them when they tell me. Also there are particuklar scientists whose credibility I trust above others and they have written on the subject for decades.
You are correct in one sense about scientific consensus though, science is never completely finished with a particular theory or law. All science is constantly being tested and attempts are constantly being made to disprove or change what is accepted science. In defense of science however I would say that there really was never any real scientific consensus that the earth was flat. That was just a popular myth centuries ago. Scientists in most civilizations came to the conclusion that the earth was round thousands of years before the birth of Christ and we've made considerable advances since then.
Hmmm...I need to proof these better.... or git a batter speel chequer...
I don't want to be obnoxious here, but you said the following...
"Personally I don't do scientific experiments in that field myself. However people I am friends with and whose opinions I trust do and I believe them when they tell me. Also there are particuklar scientists whose credibility I trust above others and they have written on the subject for decades."
To me, this is an article of faith. You have a strong belief in this theory based on the testimony of those you trust. This strong belief leads you to action and to live your life a certain way. To me this smacks of religion. I don't know about you, but I dont want anyone using the state to force their religion on me.
Posted by bhmortim at 02:11 AM : May 06, 2007
lol! Me two. But my elementary school teacher, Mrs. Mays, would be horribly disappointed in me. I just hope she never finds out (if she's still alive) that I gave up writing in cursive as soon as I dropped out of school. It'd be off to the woodshed (yep, we actually had one) for me.
Back to the issue at hand.
Thompson's speech last night at the Lincoln Club proves to me he will be our next President. People are tired of the hatred and sniping. People are weary of the negative attacks and pessimism. People are primed and ready for someone who genuinely wants to better America, not just gain power for it's own sake. Thompson is going to be that man. Sorry, Randal, Christians, athiests, liberals, Conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, INdependants and Moderates, all will join together to support the optimism and truth of Thompson's message and you can rant and rave all you want. In the end, you will be left behind if all you have to offer is the hate and anger you display here.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 02:22 AM : May 06, 2007
I'm not. I am only angry toward Christians who try to foist their values on everyone else. At Christians who believe that they have the right to tell everyone else how they must live because their bible tells them so. The fact is that this is America and they do not have the right to tell others how to live just because their book says so any more then a Muslim does or a Jew or even an atheist like me. I have a right to live my life free of your beliefs if I choose not to believe them. As for Thompson, he's to the right of Bush and that's what people are really tired of. People want a change from the right wingers and he will not get elected. Besides he's in favor of sending even more troops to die for nothing in Iraq. That alone will doom him in the general election. Thank god. lol!
They are first and foremost afraid of something. Maybe deep down they recognize the truth and live in fear of it. I fought with this one at one point when I was living immorally and against the Truth and Way of Jesus Christ. I was in fear of making the changes necessary in my life once I accepted what my heart and soul was telling me. I knew that the way forward was to follow Jesus' Way, yet the natural fear of change all humans have is strong. But, it is irrational. Another reason is that such a person loves the immoral nature of his existence and is having fun, therefore does not want that to end.
Since you and both have our own values, where do you get your's?
What makes your values more vaild than mine? Why do you feel it necessary to "foist" your values on others while telling them they must not do so themselves? That is, after all, exactly what you are doing. You believe. I believe. Why can you express your beliefs, yet tell me I cannot. The only difference is where our values come from. What makes the origins of your values any more vaild than mine?
Sir, the thing is this. You have the right, just as I, to voice your opinions and express your values how you please. You and I have the right to try and convince others to share or adopt our values and opinions. The difference in us is that I am so secure in my values and faith that to share them with others does not require that you be silenced. Yet, you seem to need an atmosphere of no competition of ideas in order to share your values and opinions honestly. I think we all know why.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 02:36 AM : May 06, 2007
And don't you see that it is arrogance like this that offends other people? religion hasn't cornered the market on happiness or morality or contentment or joy or peace. All of those are human emotions, human feelings that are inside of everyone naturally, not religiously and I feel them ever bit as much in my daily life as even the most religious person in the world. I just feel them without the need of an outside god that I don't believe in. I believe that man created god in his own image and likeness and gave human all of the best of attributes from humanity. Man gave morals and happiness and joy to the god he created. He didn't get them from him.
What makes your values more vaild than mine? Why do you feel it necessary to "foist" your values on others while telling them they must not do so themselves?
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 02:44 AM : May 06, 2007
But I don't foist my believe on anyone else. Yes we all certainly have a right to express our feelings and beliefs and values, but we do not have the right to make other people live by our religious values. For instance when it comes to ga*y marriage. People who have religious objections to ga*y marriage do not have the right to prevent ga*y people who don't believe in the same faith from getting married. I mean it's not like you'll be required to accept it or put up with it in your family or church, but you do not have the right to force others to conform, to pass laws making what they're doing because of their beliefs illegal. that's what I mean by foisting your beiefs on others. Free speech, of course, but you can not force others to follow your religious beliefs. I don't.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 02:44 AM : May 06, 2007
Oh and no offense, but if you had 15000 words or 15,000,000 you could not mount a convincing argument that atheism is a religion. It is not. In order for it to be a religion it would have to have the one thing that it doesn't have, a deity. ALL religion has a deity or deities of some form and a set of beliefs related to that deity or deities. Atheism has no deity or set of beliefs to follow. There are no written rules of atheism or meetings or places of worship or gatherings. So-called people of faith, of all types, try to say that it is a religion because they can not really grasp the concept of not believing. To them everyone believes in something, so atheism must just be a belief that there is no god, but that that is a belief in itself. It is not a belief, it is a lack of one. A lack of a belief in something is actually very different then an affirmative dis-belief in the same thing. A dis-belief implies that something exists that can be dis-believed, but a lack of a belief does not carry that burden.
"And don't you see that it is arrogance like this that offends other people? religion hasn't cornered the market on happiness or morality or contentment or joy or peace. All of those are human emotions, human feelings that are inside of everyone naturally, not religiously and I feel them ever bit as much in my daily life as even the most religious person in the world. I just feel them without the need of an outside god that I don't believe in. I believe that man created god in his own image and likeness and gave human all of the best of attributes from humanity. Man gave morals and happiness and joy to the god he created. He didn't get them from him."
What I am saying is that your actions, or in this case your words, do not elicit images of a happy person. With all of that hate and anger building up inside you for people you don't even know or simply understand, you couldn't possibly be happy. I see all kinds of people that wear all kinds of masks. I am guilty of wearing those same masks in my past, and will in the future if I am not vigilant and trust in Him in all things.
In regards to "gay marriage", it is I who am living in a reality that has existed throughout history. One man and one woman equals a marriage. It has been that way throughout history in every culture and place. So, therefore is it you and those who "foist" "gay marriage" on the rest of us who are doing the pushing, my friend. You have it completely backwards. It is the "gay marriage lobby" that is trying to force their beliefs and values on a society that does not want to change for many reasons, some which do not even inlude religion.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 03:06 AM : May 06, 2007
What you do is to put the cursor (the line that shows where your typing) in front of the first letter of the words or sentence you want to move. Then you hold the left button down on your mouse and move it until all of the words you want to move are highlighted (in blue usually). Once all the words you want to move are highlighted then you release the left button on the mouse and click on the right one with the cursor anywhere in the highlighted area. A menu will pop up and you just left click on the choice "copy". Then you move the cursor to where you want to put the words, usually in the comment box, and right click again. When the menu pops up just click on the word paste and it'll put all of the highlighted words there. Feel free to email me at randalds@hotmail.com if you have any tech stuff to ask.
"People who have religious objections to ga*y marriage do not have the right to prevent ga*y people who don't believe in the same faith from getting married."
Based on your premise that no one can force their beliefs and values on anyone else, it is the gay people who are the offenders here. We have been living a certain way since the begining of human interactions as a society, and yet, now there are those that demand we change to conform to their views. I know it is too hard for you to see or admit that, but that is simply the way it is my friend.
However, I am not like you. I don't believe those that push gay marriage must be silenced. They have the same right as I do to try and convince America to make the changes and accept their values. I too have the right to try and convince America to retain the values we have held all this time and reject other new values.
But, you seem to fear losing that argument to Christian values, therefore your desire and absolute need to silence Christians who value things differently from you.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 03:06 AM : May 06, 2007
Ahh but I think you see a hate in me that's not really there or at least not nearly as much as you think you see. The only hate I feel is toward people who try to tell me that I have to live by their religious rules. T Or people who send others off to die in a useless wasteful war. Things like that. That's all. Other then that I'm quite a happy man. I enjoy life, have a great wife and my dogs think I make the sun go up and down. I have four grown sons from a previous marriage and they're all relatively happy too.
No one is born a Christian, we are all re-born a Christian. Therefore we all know very well what it's like to travel through life not believeing.
So, I understand atheism much better than you now that I am a Christian. But, as I said, there is not enough room here to explain it all to you. But, I pray that God will do that for you as He did for me.
Now, it's late and I must bid you farewell. I doubt we will interact any firther as I will be moving on with life and leaving your anger and bitterness and stone cold heart in God's capable hands. There is nothing I could ever say or do to convince you. But, my prayer for God to soften your heart may leave the door open for a later time.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 03:19 AM : May 06, 2007
Again I have no idea where you're getting the idea that I'm trying to silence anyone. I am not. Everyone has the right to free speech. However as for ga*y marriage the fact that society has been wrong about this for hundreds of years still doesn't make it right. For a long time people we're fine with slavery too, but that didn't make it right because people finally realized that they don't have the right to own other people. Just like they don't have the right to tell other people they can't get married just because their bible says it's wrong or that this is how its "always been". People evolve. If two men get married the only harm it does to you is that it offends your religious and personal beliefs. however in a free country that is not enough for you to have the right to try to stop them. Anti-ga*y marriage laws will eventually be over turned for the same reason slavery was done away with in this country. Some things are just not right for others to do to other people.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 03:25 AM : May 06, 2007
I don't know whose posts you've been reading, but there is not the anger or bitterness in my heart that you seem to have convinced yourself is there. Also my wife, children, friends neighbors and even my dogs will tell you that my heart is anything but stone cold. Still if it makes you feel better to think that that is how atheists are, then hey, more power to you. It's not true, but then again neither are most any of christian beliefs, so who am I to judge this one. Have a happy, I will.
Randal, you doge and weave so much that you never quite bring yourself to engage anything I say in depth or with any real quality.
You say I see hate that is not there and then in the same breath tell us how much hate is there.
By the way, is Freedom not worth dying for in your world. Every member of our forces volunteered, and they serve valiantly and bravely to defend every right, every breath, every second you have. No one yet knows if our troops have served and died for no reason. However, based on your comments about the war, I can assume you side with the liberals and want us to surrender. At that point, they will have served and died for no reason. Therefore, based on your last statement, you would have to hate yourself. But, that is the reality of the situation anyhow, isn't it?
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
Posted by Pepelapue6 at 03:32 AM : May 06, 2007
Nope, but obviously you've closed your mind along with your eyes and there is no way to make you see again. For some reason you've convinced yourself that I must be a certain way about everything just because I'm an atheist. It's you who are stereotyping. Yes I do believe our troops are dying for nothing just like I believe they were when I was serving in Vietnam. Freedom is certainly worth fighting and dying for, as I know, but what's happening in Iraq is not about freedom for us here or for the freedom of the Iraqi's. It is not a war, it is a war crime. Still no matter all of the truth I could tell you, you won't listen because your mind is already made up. That's evidenced by this really weird obsession you seem to have with seeing me as a bitter and angry person, when I haven't shown you anything of that kind. I have spoken calmly and with respect, in spite of your half-hearted taunts. I feel terribly terribly sorry for you. It must be hell to be you in your closed off world. I pity you. Truly and without malice, I pity you.
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 90 Comments