Posted on 04/04/2007 3:58:30 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(AP) Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson said Wednesday that he wants the Iraqi government to vote on whether the U.S. should keep its troops there. "I'm confident they will, but ... if they do vote no -- they don't want us there -- we should get out," Thompson said, drawing applause.
Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during President Bush's first term, made the comment during his first formal presidential campaign stop in his home state. He formally announced Sunday on "This Week" on ABC that he is seeking the Republican nomination for president.
Thompson described himself as the only candidate with a commonsense approach to Iraq.
He said he would work with Iraqi leaders to form 18 self-governing provinces that would operate under a national government. He also would encourage the Iraqi government to give each citizen a stake in the nation's oil reserves. "We must give the Iraqi people a stake in their nation and stability in their future," Thompson said.
He spoke to about 1,000 people Wednesday morning at the Tommy G. Thompson Athletic Center at Messmer High School, a Catholic school involved in the pioneering voucher program that Thompson helped create as governor. It allows low income families in Milwaukee to send their children to private schools at state expense.
From Milwaukee, Thompson planned to go to a noon event in Clive, Iowa.
Since announcing last year he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise money and gauge support, Thompson has lagged behind better-known rivals, like former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
On Sunday, the 65-year-old proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the race.
He has previously said he didn't mind being "the dark horse candidate."
Thompson left the Bush administration in 2005 and established his presidential exploratory committee in December.
He has focused his strategy on Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses for presidential nominees. He has made weekly visits to the state and sought to make the case that it will take a candidate who can carry the Midwest to win the nomination.
Thompson spent 14 years as governor of Wisconsin, pushing for an overhaul of the state's welfare laws and championing Milwaukee's school choice, or voucher, program.
In 2006, he briefly toyed with the idea of running for governor but in the end decided against it. He had considered running for president in 2000 but decided he lacked support.
The Iraqi government wants us to stay. It is not necessary to have a national referendum.
Stuff it Tommy.
Our presence in Iraq was asked for by the democratically elected Iraqi Government. We don’t need another vote just to make you look important.
Thanks for playing, Tommy.
The only ones voting for him are those who haven’t realized yet he isn’t Fred Thompson.
Here’s a better vote to Americans: Do you want us to win the war in Iraq or pull out? If they choose win, drop the rules of engagement crap and win.
Would he make that same offer to Germany?
Hang it up Tommy.
No, no, no. We want FRED Thompson.
Dead on.
Thank goodness for James Sensenbrenner. We have a least one politician on the national stage who isn’t a complete nincompoop.
I still think Tommy will get the GOP nod by accident.
This guy is not serious about running for President, is he?
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