The Real Fred Thompson?
THE SCRAPBOOK is ready to declare a preference for 2008: Fred Thompson, former Tennessee senator and, more important, star of the big screen and small. Our only proviso: that he not back down from the strong positions staked out by his movie and TV characters over the last two decades (as compiled by our colleague Victorino Matus for THE DAILY STANDARD):
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* No Way Out (1987): In this Kevin Costner-Gene Hackman political thriller, Thompson plays CIA director Marshall. His Central Intelligence colleague Kevin O’Brien explains that a murder suspect was likely having an affair with the victim:
Eternal damnation for homosexuals? Well, this might work to his advantage in the primaries but could prove tricky in the general election.
* The Hunt for Red October (1990): In this Cold War classic, Thompson plays Rear Admiral Josh Painter, commander of an aircraft carrier involved in the search for a Soviet submarine that may be trying to defect. Painter questions CIA analyst Jack Ryan about the Kremlin’s next move:
Though a bit scatological, Thompson displays here the keen insight of a Sovietologist. (Incidentally, during an editorial luncheon here at THE WEEKLY STANDARD in January 2006, Thompson said he’d have to call The Hunt for Red October his favorite of the films he has worked on-even beating out Curly Sue.)
* Days of Thunder (1990): NASCAR dads will love Thompson as the burly racetrack owner Big John in this Tom Cruise vehicle. In the scene below, Big John lets loose on Cruise’s character, Cole Trickle, and another driver for their antics:
Much is happening here, but the two important themes are Thompson’s acting as a uniter (not divider) and his expert knowledge of Japanese trade issues.
* Die Hard 2 (1990): In this sequel to the action-thriller Die Hard, Thompson costars as Trudeau, chief air traffic controller at Dulles Airport. When Bruce Willis, as John McClane, tries to convince Trudeau that someone’s about to take over the airport and drastic action needs to be taken, Trudeau exercises caution:
What we see here is Thompson in crisis mode. He is acutely aware of the stress air traffic controllers experience on a daily basis, what with all the planes, knives, chainsaws, and card games going on.
* In the Line of Fire (1993): What better way to prepare for the White House than by playing the part of Harry Sargent, the president’s chief of staff? Sargent may not be the most likeable guy in the world, especially when confronting Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) about a possible assassination attempt, but he still has the best of intentions, as can be seen in this exchange:
Thompson understands how vital it is for a president not to be cowering behind his security agents. He knows what it takes to win.
* Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2002-’07): Perhaps most revealing is the role Thompson plays on the Law & Order series as New York district attorney Arthur Branch:
Or then again:
Thompson also knows how to look on the bright side:
Most important is his sense of high calling:
Foes will no doubt search for less impressive, possibly even damaging lines of dialogue to stifle the nascent campaign. Over the past 20 years, Fred Thompson has said and done a lot. He may have sounded insensitive in Necessary Roughness or obtuse in Feds. And God only knows what he had to say in Aces: Iron Eagle III or those two fateful episodes of Matlock.
NCLB ‘Rithmetic
Fairfax County, Va., superintendent of schools and former math teacher Jack Dale complains to Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher about the effects of the No Child Left Behind law: “You focus obsessively on multiplying two-digit numbers, as opposed to how to apply that knowledge in the real world and how to play with mathematics in a creative way.” The horror! Next thing you know, students will be forced to start diagramming sentences again.
Liberal Paranoia Watch
As reported in the March 20, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle: “Chris Finnie, a Santa Cruz-based Democratic operative, said the widespread coverage given to [the anti-Hillary video based on Apple Computer’s ‘1984’ ad] in GOP circles suggests the ad could have come from a Republican operative and smacks of ‘Swift Boat’ tactics used in 2004 against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
“‘It killed two birds with one stone,’ she said, by sharply attacking Clinton as being a political drone and smudging ‘Obama’s positioning as the “Mr. Clean” of politics. This is politics as usual, and by running a smear ad that is associated with him, it puts a dent in that image.'”
As widely reported the next day (we quote here the AP version), “The mystery creator of the Orwellian YouTube ad against Hillary Rodham Clinton is a Democratic operative who worked for a digital consulting firm with ties to rival Sen. Barack Obama. Philip de Vellis, a strategist with Blue State Digital, acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that he was the creator of the video, which portrayed Clinton as a Big Brother figure and urged support for Obama’s presidential campaign.”
Oops. No reaction yet from Finnie. Given her keen grasp of Republican perfidy, real or imaginary, we expect the DNC to bring her aboard soon.
