Russert also did not approach Social Security, almost questioning his desire to nail Fred on something. I find these points disturbing. Fred has solid solutions to these problems in contrast to Hillary, the DemocRATs, or even to his Republican rivalries. I feel Russert could not find anything to nail Fred on, and just couldn’t pin him down with the usual spin he has.
Glaringly obvious what was going on. To omit the one issue that galvanizes Americans--especially since Thompson has staked such a clear position on it--can only be conscious effort.
Whether or not Hillary's machine ordered Russert to steer clear of the subject is probably immaterial. He--and the rest of the liberal media--can figure out on their own how devasting it is to their cause of putting a liberal in the WH to allow a front-running conservative candidate any airtime on that issue. Since this is such a strong area for Thompson, he can't politely hang back waiting for the question. He needs to craft artful segues with which he can broach the subject himself from several different directions,
Tim will just have to have Fred on again, to cover the items he missed this time. It is a great venue for covering issues that need reasoned, thoughful answers. I suspect Tim will do just that.