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On Iraq, Domestic Matters and More
Thompson has never worried too much about such swipes: "Some say I'm not their notion of a perfect candidate. The media expects to see me well scripted and slick, and I am neither. I'm just Fred. I've done pretty well being me, and me is what people are going to get. It's not my mission in life to prove to anybody how hungry for the Presidency I am. This is not a pie-eating contest."On Iraq, Thompson says, "there are no good options." The war's costs are high, he says, but may be higher "if we have another stain on America like that infamous scene from Saigon 1975 in which our helicopters took off, leaving those who supported us grabbing at the landing skids." Encouraged by recent security gains in Iraq, he is nonetheless leery of a long-term deployment of U.S. troops similar to their presence in Germany and South Korea: "That would not be a good development." The United States, he says, must look to a time when Iraq is "in the rearview mirror" and issues like border security and nuclear proliferation take priority.
He softens when talk turns to domestic issues: "After my daughter's death, in 2002, I left the Senate after eight years -- even before the term limits I support kicked in. That year, I married Jeri [his first marriage ended in divorce in 1985], and it meant the beginning of a whole new life."
He and Jeri, a political consultant, have a daughter, Hayden, four, and a son, Samuel, one. "Within the space of a year and a half, I experienced the ultimate tragedy and the ultimate happiness. I count my blessings, and I have a real focused sense of purpose now." It's critical, he says, that his children grow up in an America that offers the same opportunities he enjoyed. His speeches include a stern wake-up call on entitlement programs. He cites official estimates that in less than 40 years, the combined cost of Medicare and Medicaid could equal the size of today's total federal budget. On Medicare, Thompson suggests offering more private-sector choices while asking wealthy beneficiaries to pay more for their coverage. On Social Security, he supports the idea of letting younger people create private retirement accounts and has suggested tying benefit increases to inflation.
"I reject the notion that Grandpa and Grandma won't do anything to make sure the system works for their grandkids," he says.
To those who want him to be Reagan's heir but complain he lacks the late President's sunny outlook, Thompson says this: "He was not all sunlight and music and a walk in the park. He was often discussing serious stuff, like I'm talking about terrorism and entitlements bankrupting our children. The thing that was successful for Reagan wasn't his personality but that he believed what he was saying and it came through."
Still, questions about his demeanor persist, and they extend to how he would handle the person many in the GOP see as the likely Democratic nominee. "I want someone who will take on Hillary Clinton," says Giovanna Cugnasca, a New York businesswoman at a Thompson event in New York last fall. "I'm not sure he's aggressive enough." Thompson downplays the kind of Hillary-bashing that some of his primary rivals revel in. "I'm saving my best zingers for running against her," he says with a grin.
Some Democrats worry about just that. Should Thompson be the nominee, they say, his easygoing style could play well with voters worn down by years of partisan bickering. Democratic consultant Bob Beckel has said Thompson, because of his ability to connect with swing voters, is the only potential GOP candidate "who scares me." James Carville, who helped get Bill Clinton elected in 1992, says he detects in Thompson the same kind of soothing populism that attracted many independents to Reagan.
Whether it ultimately works for Thompson remains to be seen. And it may be an old actor's trick, but he, like Reagan, manages to combine his lofty ambitions with a contented air that leaves you feeling if those ambitions aren't realized, well, that's all right too.
"I had a great life before entering this race," he says. "And I will have a great one should I not be elected."
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