Part of the problem here is that illegal immigration just wasn't on anybody's radar screens back when Fred was in public service. There was no reason to vote on anything related to this issue, and nothing to vote on anywise, back when he was in the Senate. His public statements for the last month seem to indicate that he takes a sensible, pro-enforcement position, however.
Still, he has no executive experience. Leader of the free world and commander in chief should not be entry level executive position. Ideally (from executive experience point of view), governor or maybe somebody like Tommy Franks (general), Guliani (big city mayor), Romney (governor, CEO).
Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this then. I don't believe executive experience in completely different levels of government is an indicator of how good a man will be as President. Being a big city mayor or a state governour isn't the same as having to deal with issues at a federal level. And at this level, Fred has more overall experience than either Rudy or Mitt, though not as much as McCain. Further, Rudy's record as NYC mayor not only doesn't impress me, but actually bothers me a great deal.
That's the thing. Saying Thompson doesn't have 'executive' experience and comparing that to Rudy is highly questionable. If some of the folks on FR would look more closely at Rudy's record as mayor of NYC, they'd probably agree with many of us that he is indeed NOT a Republican. I give Rudy all the credit in the world on 9-11, but his overall record speaks for itself.