Opinion: The Thompson papers

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

As Fred Thompson edges closer to the water of a presidential dive, a more rigorous examination of his record is underway. Newsweek today weighs in with an article that examines an archive at the University of Tennessee containing personal correspondence and other documents from his eight years in the Senate.

The piece may add fuel to questions being raised about his conservative credentials, especially about abortion. But it also suggests how he’s likely to handle the issue when asked about it in future debates.

The story notes that during his first campaign, in 1994, he opposed criminalizing abortion in answering a survey for a conservative group. And, like many, he ‘struggled with the question of when life begins,’ the article says. In a campaign policy statement, he wrote, ‘I do believe that the decision to have an early term abortion is a moral issue and should not be a legal one subject to the dictates of the government.’

Once in office, however, his voting record was solidly anti-abortion, a point he can be expected to stress. And don’t be surprised if he recycles a comment the story flags from a recent Thompson appearance on Fox News; he said his pro-life stance ‘meant a little more’ to him since he saw the sonogram of his now 3-year-old daughter.

The personal letters and notes apparently don’t contain any tidbits that will make it to the tabloids, although Newsweek points out that such items usually don’t ‘see light until long after a politician is dead and gome, or at least done with politics for good.’

-- Don Frederick