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For someone who doesn't know something as obvious as the fact that, given her upcoming book, Gwen Ifill has a financial stake in an Obama win, Maggie Rodriguez has an awfully high opinion of the knowledge level of ordinary Americans. Rodriguez interviewed a feisty Fred Thompson on today's Early Show. During the course of the contentious exchange: * Rodriguez, questioning Thompson on Sarah Palin's inability to name a Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade with which she disagreed, claimed that “everybody” and “ordinary Americans” can cite Supreme Court cases. * But when Thompson stated that Palin would be...

Fred Thompson digs Sarah Palin. And he doesn’t much like the way the liberals and the press (I know, redundant) have treated her. But Fred also has no doubt she’s up to the task. When John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin, as his running mate, the Democrats and their far-left constituency let out a primal scream that could be heard from sea to shining sea. How dare he choose someone that they and their pals in the media had not had a chance to vet (i.e. libel, slander, and otherwise and otherwise eviscerate). Ah, but it was not too late....

When John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin, as his running mate, the Democrats and their far-left constituency let out a primal scream that could be heard from sea to shining sea. How dare he choose someone that they and their pals in the media had not had a chance to vet (i.e. libel, slander, and otherwise and otherwise eviscerate). Ah, but it was not too late. These seekers of “a new kind of politics” poured torrents of malicious abuse upon her and her family. Plane loads of scandal mongers, lawyers and other truth seekers became more numerous in Alaska than...

Qualified by Fred Thompson When John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin, as his running mate, the Democrats and their far-left constituency let out a primal scream that could be heard from sea to shining sea. How dare he choose someone that they and their pals in the media had not had a chance to vet (i.e. libel, slander, and otherwise and otherwise eviscerate). Ah, but it was not too late. These seekers of “a new kind of politics” poured torrents of malicious abuse upon her and her family. Plane loads of scandal mongers, lawyers and other truth seekers became more...

Neil Cavuto said the president will be addressing the country shortly

Former Republican prez hopeful Fred Thompson and one of the GOP's most prominent black figures, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, will be in South Florida in coming weeks to raise money for Republican congressional hopeful Allen West, who's challenging freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Republicans were already fired up for John McCain and Sarah Palin last week when Fred Thompson took the stage here to turn up the heat a little more - with a full-throated attack on the media as a co-conspirator with the Democrats in an effort to smear and destroy Palin. "This woman is undergoing the most vicious assault that anybody has ever seen in public life," Thompson said. A half-hour later, the Republicans lined Old Lee Highway to watch the campaign motorcade pull away. As McCain and Palin rolled by, they cheered. As the press van approached...

FAIRFAX, Va. - A crowd of 23,000 people gathered yesterday for a political rally for Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, making the Fairfax campaign stop McCain's largest to date. McCain and Palin said maintaining Virginia a red state will not be easy, but they stressed the fact that they believe a Republican victory in the commonwealth is achievable and important to the overall election. "The commonwealth of Virginia is a battleground state," McCain said. "We must win it, and we will win it with your support." The Republican candidates, introduced by former Tennessee Republican...

Former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson is pushing back hard against a CBS reporter’s editorial assessment of his remarks at a rally for John McCain and Sarah Palin earlier today. “Seems as if, all of a sudden, some of my old buddies over at CBS have become very sensitive to what they consider to be hyperbole on the presidential campaign trail. Imagine that,” Thompson told Townhall. Listen to Senator Thompson's full statement here. CBS Reporter John Bentley, who covered Thompson’s presidential campaign as an embed reporter, wrote a very negative analysis of the speech Thompson gave to introduce GOP vice...

(CBS)From CBS News' John Bentley: (CHAMPION, PA.) – Earlier today, Fred Thompson blasted Barack Obama on John McCain’s behalf and introduced Sarah Palin as “the most remarkable success story in the history of American politics.” I thought that was overstating the case a bit; Thompson disagreed, and wrote me to say so. “Seems as if, all of a sudden, some of my old buddies over at CBS have become very sensitive to what they consider to be hyperbole on the presidential campaign trail. Imagine that,” Thompson wrote, referring to me pointing out that George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt...

"Dear Friend, Welcome to Fred PAC. And to my many old friends, welcome back. I formed Fred PAC to help identify and support candidates on every level who support a platform of conservative, principles-based leadership and policies. I’m working for Fred PAC with one overriding mission; to secure the future of our country and preserve the freedoms you and I and millions of our fellow citizens hold so dear. We conservatives need to elect men and women at every level of government who will develop and promote the kind of innovative, free market and principles-based policies that led our great...

I’m sitting here watching the Republican convention, and I’m struck by the powerful endorsements just given by Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman for John McCain. I can’t help but contrast those endorsements with the tepid, self-absorbed “endorsment” that Hillary Clinton gave to Barack Obama just last week. Listening to Hillary Clinton, I tried to keep track of the number of times she used self-describing pronouns like I and mine, but I lost count after about two minutes.

Highlights of Fred Thompson’s speech at the Republican National Convention Sept. 2, 2008.

ST PAUL (CNN) – Barack Obama is wholly untested and unprepared to be president, former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Tuesday — the most pointed criticisms yet of the Democratic presidential nominee delivered at the scaled-back GOP convention. "Democrats present a history making nominee for president," Thompson told the cheering crowd. "History making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for president. "Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history making, Democrat controlled Congress," he continued in the prime-time speech. "History making because it's the least accomplished and most...

The following is the text and video of the speech given by Senator Fred Thompson at the RNC. It is a great speech and makes me wonder, if he had talked this way during the primaries we may have a different candidate right now.

Reviewing speeches at the Dem convention, Keith Olbermann was like a mother describing her child's performance in a middle-school musical. "A grand slam across the street," enthused Olbermann over Hillary's effort, only to outdo himself by calling Obama's speech's "spellbinding" and "extraordinary." But when it came to reviewing Fred Thompson's speech at tonight's Dem convention, Olbermann suddenly morphed into Frank Rich with a migraine back in his theater critic days. Sniffed Olbermann: "We have heard two speeches in the last forty minutes or so, Chris, first from President Bush and now from former Senator Fred Thompson. I think it's fair...

Here is video of the outstanding speech given tonight by Sen. Fred Thompson at the Republican National Convention. It was the best I have ever seen Fred, and the best speech given thus far at either convention. A true masterpiece! . . . . (see video at link)

Fred's on! 10:10PM EDT

Fred Thompson will forcefully defend the selection of Sarah Palin tonight in a speech Republicans are characterizing as "red meat." He will argue that the feeding frenzy over Palin's is the result of "panic" from the Democrat-friendly mainstream media. "What a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is. She is from a small town, with small town values, but that's not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family. Let's be clear, the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a...

Thompson Speech Hits Media on Palin, Obama on Abortion Fred Thompson will forcefully defend the selection of Sarah Palin tonight in a speech Republicans are characterizing as "red meat." He will argue that the feeding frenzy over Palin's is the result of "panic" from the Democrat-friendly mainstream media. "What a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is. She is from a small town, with small town values, but that's not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family. Let's be clear, the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the...

Video EXCLUSIVE: Fred Thompson on Gov. Sarah Palin

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) -- The Republican National Convention, cut back Monday because of Hurricane Gustav's arrival on the U.S. Gulf Coast, will resume a full schedule Tuesday, convention officials said. Republicans are holding their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, this week.

-snip- "No nominee that I've ever heard of has had all the boxes checked...Whether she can survive those liabilities depends on things that haven't happened yet. John McCain has lot riding on this. I think she'll do very well, but it's up to her to carry the mail." -snip- "I wonder sometimes what we call experience," he drawled. "How much experience does Barack Obama have? Sitting on the floor of the Senate listening to people talk does not give you foreign-relations experience." -snip- Is Palin ready? At this, Thompson groaned. "Ahhhh," he said, pausing for a moment before finding his...

The Weekly Standard Fred Thompson in 2012? Laying the groundwork for another presidential run. by Stephen F. Hayes 08/29/2008 3:00:00 AM IF FRED THOMPSON was the latest entrant in the 2008 Republican primary process, he may well be the earliest in 2012. Not that he will admit it. Over the course of the past two years, there has been much talk that the Republican party lacks a strong conservative leader. In May 2007, Thompson offered himself up and, on the issues, made a plausible case that he could be the guy. But his late entry to the presidential race, together...

Fred Thompson is a talented actor, but even he couldn't conceal the fact that he thinks John McCain's new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is something of a gamble--albeit a gamble that going's to pay off. "No nominee that I've ever heard of has had all the boxes checked," he confessed this afternoon during lunch with NEWSWEEK's convention team here at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Paul, referring to Palin's rather skimpy resume. "Whether she can survive those liabilities depends on things that haven't happened yet. John McCain has lot riding on this. I think she'll do...

I was at the Minnesota State Fair all day today, resigned, but not too disappointed, at the prospect of hearing that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty had been named the Republican Vice Presidential candidate to run with John McCain. A blue collar, environmentally-friendly guy, pro-life, not red meat for the base, but enough (maybe) to soothe them will extending a tepid hand to blue collar voters in the industrial Midwest and Rust Belt. Imagine my surprise, when, after wandering around the fair for most of the morning, and eyeing the cheese curds, I chanced by the Minnesota State Republican Party building...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is skipping the Republican National Convention this week in Minnesota to manage an ongoing budget dispute in Sacramento. Republican officials say Fred Thompson will take his place in the prime-time lineup Monday night and onetime presidential candidate will have nearly three times longer to speak than he was originally given for his speech on Tuesday. Schwarzenegger hinted that he might skip the convention at a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "The work for the people of California, and to solve this budget problem, is the most important thing right now for me," he said....

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is skipping the Republican National Convention this week in Minnesota to manage an ongoing budget dispute in Sacramento. Republican officials say Fred Thompson will take his place in the prime-time lineup Monday night and onetime presidential candidate will have nearly three times longer to speak than he was originally given for his speech on Tuesday. Schwarzenegger hinted that he might skip the convention at a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "The work for the people of California, and to solve this budget problem, is the most important thing right now for me," he said....

Senator Fred Thompson Praises Senator McCain’s Vice Presidential Pick (Nashville) – U.S. Senator Fred Thompson issued the following statement: "I am absolutely delighted by this selection. Once again, John McCain has shown that he is an independent thinker who paints in bold strokes. Sarah Palin is a conservative reformer with executive experience who will bring a breath of fresh air to Washington. She will be an ideal running mate for John McCain, and will make a major contribution to our country's future."

Just got this email in my inbox! Anyone know what's going on?? And me wishing it was Fred announcing his VP choice today... ------------------------ "Friends, At this crucial moment in our nation’s history, it is vital that we adhere to the fundamental conservative principles that have unified us for over two centuries. On Monday, September 1, Senator Fred Thompson will announce a major new effort to ensure that these conservative principles are supported and defended across our country and at every level of government. Please stay tuned and join Senator Thompson as he unveils this exciting endeavor.

Well, here we are again, my friends. We stand together at a time of great challenge and opportunity. As conservatives, I think it’s fair to say that not everything has gone our way this election, and as many of us prepare to gather up in Minneapolis, we are faced with some tough choices. I truly believe that given those choices, if you care about judges who will make decision based on the Constitution, not their political leanings, if you care about shrinking a bureaucracy that will take more of your money and do less for you, if you care about...

Gov. Bobby Jindal [LA] Gov. Sarah Palin [AK] Gov. Haley Barbour [MS] Gov. Tim Pawlenty [MN] Former Gov. Mike Huckabee [AR] Sen. Lindsey Graham [SC] Former Gov. Mitt Romney [MA] Other Write in:

Fred Thompson gives us a little perspective and reminds us that in a world growing more dangerous by the day, literally so in the Russia v. Georgia war, we cannot trust the security of the free world to a rank amateur. My mind goes back to August 2002 in Tbilisi, as I visited Georgia with John McCain. I remember it feeling rather dark and secretive, with the former-Soviet Union’s heavy hand still making its presence felt. President Eduard Shevardnadze, formerly Soviet minister of foreign affairs, presented a friendlier face to the United States, but was beset by economic problems and...

My mind goes back to August 2002 in Tbilisi, as I visited Georgia with John McCain. I remember it feeling rather dark and secretive, with the former-Soviet Union’s heavy hand still making its presence felt. President Eduard Shevardnadze, formerly Soviet minister of foreign affairs, presented a friendlier face to the United States, but was beset by economic problems and corruption charges. At the time I did not fully appreciate the power of the democratic impulses that were just beginning to bubble up and would lead to the democratic Georgian government we now see threatened. What has happened in Georgia since...

Fred joins Mitt Romney, VDH, Jonah Goldberg, and others as a speaker on the National Review post-election cruise.

I still think the GOP screwed themselves when they failed to take Fred Thompson seriously. The old cat never ceases to amaze me. A Google Alert popped these two stories from the Indian Blogosphere into my in-box this morning: Gandhian self-destruction from Indian Raksa - Defending Secular India, and Gandhi’s Way Isn’t the American Way: Collective suicide is no foreign policy from Islamic Terrorism in India. Both of these posts are based on this March 15, 2007 National Review Online transcript of a Fred Thompson radio spot. Listen to Fred right here. (mp3 file) Doesn't he sound presidential? Here is...

Former Senator and Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson, a keynote speaker at the group’s convention, said that pro-life supporters should oppose the election of Democratic Senator Obama, an ardent abortion supporter, at all cost. "If Sen. Obama is elected, he will, through Supreme Court and federal court nominations, cause [abortion] to accelerate, and that will bring about changes in this country that no one in the room, and most Americans, want to see," CNS quoted Thompson as saying. "And no one in this room will live long enough to see [the changes] rectified,” he added. Both Thompson and NRLC leaders...

The 2008 presidential election is "foremost about the United States Supreme Court," the president of the National Right to Life Committee said at the group's annual convention Thursday. "It's not the economy, stupid," said Dr. Wanda Franz, referencing President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign slogan. "No, for us, it's the Supreme Court." The power of the president to appoint judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, potentially changing the composition of the court and moving it to the right or left, is the "overriding issue" for this election, Franz said, speaking before an audience of pro-life advocates in Arlington, Va. "Whoever wins...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson served as the highlight of the opening ceremonies of the National Right to Life convention Thursday morning. He urged the more than one thousand pro-life activists attending the annual event to stick to their pro-life principles regardless of the wins or losses. Thompson said there “has been a lot of talk about the need for change in this country and this has become Senator Obama’s mantra.” He said Congress is controlled by pro-abortion politicians “so I see the need for great change in this country.” Thompson worried about a change...

There has been a lot of talk about the need for change in this country. That is Senator Obama's mantra, of course. And all of the commentators say, "It is a change election." Well, I can understand why the call for change is so powerful considering the pitiful condition that our country is in. We simply have the most prosperous, freest and strongest country in the history of the world. So we can understand why liberal politicians and their supporters see the need for great change. On a more serious note, we have long recognized the role change plays in...

California State Sen. Tim McClintock thinks Sen. John McCain should choose his former primary opponent, Fred Thompson for his running mate. McClintock made that statement at the Newsmaker Conference on May 24, hosted by The American Spectator and Americans for Tax Reform. As a self-proclaiming, “real” conservative Republican, Sen. McClintock wishes for a return to Reagan conservatism in Congress and in the Oval Office. McClintock also expressed tepid enthusiasm for the GOP’s presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. “I was Fred Thompson’s state-wide chairman,” said McClintock. “McCain was not my first choice. He was not my second. He was not my...

    Boumediene: A Supremely Problematic Court DecisionJune 22, 2008 - by Fred Thompson As [1] I pointed out last week, and as legal scholar [2] John Yoo did earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal, the “Boumediene Five” have done our nation and our Constitution no great service. But beyond the rhetoric, we really need to understand the real world impact of this ruling on the war we are waging against our enemies. In Boumediene v Bush, besides, for the first time in history conferring habeas corpus rights on alien enemies detained abroad by our military during a...

As I pointed out last week, and as legal scholar John Yoo did earlier this week in The Wall Street Journal, the “Boumediene Five” have done our nation and our Constitution no great service. But beyond the rhetoric, we really need to understand the real world impact of this ruling on the war we are waging against our enemies. ... Look, this issue isn’t going to go away, so consider these things the next time you hear someone defend the Supreme Court’s majority opinion as an attempt at “basic fairness” and to help prevent an innocent sheepherder from being improperly...

[Fred Thompson writes:] Our Democratic friends are once again scrambling to defend Senator Obama's latest national security gaffe. Obama supports the recent Supreme Court majority opinion in the Boumediene decision, which extended for the first time habeas corpus rights to foreign enemy combatants held abroad. The Senator went even further than the Court and said that accused terrorists should be tried in American courts as was Omar Abdel Rahman, "the blind sheik", who masterminded the first World Trade Center bombing. Last week, in a call with reporters and bloggers, I pointed out Obama's folly. The Rahman case demonstrates some of...

In a McCain administration, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson would play a dominant role in selecting Supreme Court nominees and other judicial appointments, sources close to the McCain campaign and to Thompson tell us. And why is Fred suddenly everywhere? These sources say that the agreement between McCain and Thompson is behind Thompson’s resurgence in the national media in recent weeks. In a McCain campaign conference call with reporters yesterday on last week’s Supreme Court decision on terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thompson -- without claiming such status -- played the role of a prominent McCain adviser. Developing…

Boom! McCain hits one out of the park. McCain will lock down a lot of conservatives with this one. Fred knows exactly what he is doing and as long as McCain follows his advice, there will be no Harriet Miers, David Souters, or Anthony Kennedys coming out of a McCain administration.

Sen. Fred Thompson is back in the game: he participated yesterday in one of the McCain presidential campaigns conference calls with Sen. John McCain’s senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann. The call was held to discuss Sen.Barack Obama’s recent remarks on terrorism and the Supreme Court decision in the Boumediene case last week to allow enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay the right to challenge their detention in federal court (Habeas Corpus). "On the issue of national security, I believe that it's very clear to me that it was a wrong decision of the Untied States Supreme Court," McCain said...

The John McCain campaign continued to roll out its heavy artillery by featuring former Senator and presidential hopeful Fred Thompson. The McCain campaign had Rudy Giuliani speaking yesterday, and the former-opponent tour took a turn through seriously conservative territory with Thompson. Jill Hazelbaker started off by reading a statement declaring Barack Obama as “just another typical politician” by rejecting public financing in the election. They noted that Obama is the first candidate since Watergate to do so, and accused him of not keeping his word. Fred Thompson then appeared on the call to discuss Boumediene and the political reaction to...

The Talk Shows Sunday, June 15th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Red Cavaney; Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Tribute to late host Tim Russert.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Former Sens. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and John Edwards, D-N.C.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz.; Douglas Holtz-Eakin,...