[Mia T]

Citizen politicians: What the Founders envisioned were people of exceptional character, ability and achievement who would lend their expertise by serving a term or two and then return to their day jobs.

This isn't Fred Thompson.

Indeed, Thompson exempifies DC entrenched power and the revolving door.

• campaign manager for Senator Howard Baker's successful re-election campaign in 1972
• co-chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal, (1973-1974)
• 1975-1993 Thompson's eighteen year engagement as a lobbyist in D.C. He 'eventually represented clients including Westinghouse, General Electric (the current corporate owner of the NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League '
• 'By 1982, Thompson worked the U.S. Congress membership as a lobbyist for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation desired by the Tennessee Savings and Loan League --- in this case, federal deregulation legislation allowing for additional government support of ailing S&Ls; giving U.S. thrifts the freedom to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures; and eliminating interest-rate ceilings on new accounts to increase S&Ls' competitiveness. Enacted into law during in September 1982, the Senate bill pushed by Thompson was incorporated into the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. The Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 is widely credited with having laid the groundwork for the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s.'
• November 8, 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate. Thompson was re-elected in 1996.

Citizen politicians: What the Founders envisioned were people of exceptional character, ability and achievement who would lend their expertise by serving a term or two and then return to their day jobs.

This isn't Fred Thompson.

Indeed, Thompson exempifies DC entrenched power and the revolving door.

• campaign manager for Senator Howard Baker's successful re-election campaign in 1972
• co-chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal, (1973-1974)
• 1975-1993 Thompson's eighteen year engagement as a lobbyist in D.C. He 'eventually represented clients including Westinghouse, General Electric (the current corporate owner of the NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League '
• 'By 1982, Thompson worked the U.S. Congress membership as a lobbyist for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation desired by the Tennessee Savings and Loan League --- in this case, federal deregulation legislation allowing for additional government support of ailing S&Ls; giving U.S. thrifts the freedom to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures; and eliminating interest-rate ceilings on new accounts to increase S&Ls' competitiveness. Enacted into law during in September 1982, the Senate bill pushed by Thompson was incorporated into the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. The Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 is widely credited with having laid the groundwork for the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s.'
• November 8, 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate. Thompson was re-elected in 1996.

[kevkrom]

Citizen politicians: What the Founders envisioned were people of exceptional character, ability and achievement who would lend their expertise by serving a term or two and then return to their day jobs. This isn't Fred Thompson. Indeed, Thompson exempifies DC entrenched power and the revolving door.

LOL! Relying on Wikpedia's leftist editorializing to discredit Thompson?

Look at Thompson's lobbying history -- it is universally in favor of deregulation, period. As in, get the federal government out of regulating things it has no business dealing with in the first place.

Deregulation generally works. To point to one failure that deregulation may have allowed to happen does not invalidate that deregulation was still the right thing to do.