The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Fred Thompson’s entry into the presidential race was enough to bounce him into the lead. He is “currently the top choice for 26% of Likely Republican Primary Voters.” Giuliani follows with 22%, Romney with 13%, McCain comes in third at 12%, and Mike Huckabee brings in 6%. What will happen when Fred really gets out there and gets his message out? Hopefully, his message will be a little more, shall we say, rational, than it has been recently.
“They said, ‘You gotta quit smoking,’” Thompson explained to a questioner asking about progress in Iraq during a town hall-style meeting.
Thompson said the smoking ban and terror tactics Al Qaeda used to oppress women and intimidate local leaders pushed tribes in western Anbar Province to support U.S. troops.
I have no doubt that some Iraqis decided to support U.S. troops because they did not agree with Al Qaeda’s terror tactics and oppressive beliefs. However, I’m thinking that a ban on smoking was probably the least of their worries.
Thompson has also been accused of being soft on terror because of his statements regarding bin Laden.
On his second day of campaigning, Thompson said Bin Laden was more “symbolism” than anything else, suggesting that capturing him would not be a top priority for a Thompson administration.
When he later stated that he would like to see bin Laden captured and killed, he was criticized for the manner in which he said that as well.
“We’ve got due process to go through” Thompson said, elaborating on his promise to “capture and kill” bin Laden. “I’m not suggesting those things happen simultaneously.”
Some seemed to think that Thompson was suggesting “that the world’s most wanted terrorist should be subject to the constitutional protections afforded criminals in the U.S.” Fred’s spokesman attempted to clarify the position for those critics.
Thompson spokesman Todd Harris, who was traveling with Thompson in South Carolina today, explained that, yes, Thompson wants Bin Laden killed, but not before “we … milk every ounce of intelligence information out of him to fight the war on terror.”
As Harris explains it, Thompson does not believe that Bin Laden should receive the same constitutional due process protections of American citizens. Rather, he said, “he’s talking about the same kind of due process that they receive at Guantanamo.”
Of course we want to interrogate bin Laden first, if that’s possible. If the only way to get him is to blow him up, then go right ahead. However, if you could catch him and torture him for a while first. . . I think he’s earned it.
You know if Fred had left out the part about due process, he would have been attacked by the “human rights” groups who care more about the rights of criminals than the public, and the liberal left, for pronouncing bin Laden guilty without a trial. After all, according to the soft-hearts, it’s America’s fault that we’re hated by the militant Muslims who want to destroy our country. If we would just play nice by converting to Islam, giving up our freedom, and living under their rule, old bin Laden would be our best friend.
