Thompson on Meet the Press

Posted: Sunday, November 04, 2007 2:27 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum and NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
On Meet the Press this morning, Thompson offered a conciliatory view toward Pervez Musharraf, aligned himself with Giuliani on a contentious social issue, and fought back against criticism about the owner of his private jet's criminal history.

Philip Martin
A Washington Post article published this morning -- Thompson Advisor Has a Criminal Past  -- revealed that one of Thompson's campaign co-chairmen, Philip Martin has a history of drug problems. "Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979," the article says. "The court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation."

Today, Thompson told Tim Russert that Philip Martin, an advisor and top fundraiser, is still with his campaign -- although the candidate has yet to speak with Martin about his speckled past after finding out the details of his history yesterday afternoon. "Nobody has made any accusations that he's done anything illegal with regard to our campaign," Thompson said on Meet the Press. "Now, what I understand is, from reading this story and from third parties is that when Phil was in his twenties, 24 years ago or something like that, these things came about."

Thompson said Martin paid his debt to society and is now a "good productive successful citizen." He promised to talk to Martin to discuss the situation. "I'm not going to throw my friend under the bus for something he did 25 years ago if he's okay now," Thompson said. "On the other hand, I'm running for president. I've got to do the right thing. When problems occur, I'll just have to figure it out."

Pakistan and Iraq
On the foreign policy front, Thompson's views toward Musharraf appear much more conciliatory than even some of his Democratic opponents in the presidential race. The former Senator said Musharraf was heading toward a civilian government but reacted to the terrorist attempt on Benazir Bhutto's life. Thompson called for not suspending any economic aid to Pakistan at this date, but added, "We've got to play hardball with them."

He stopped short of calling for Musharraf to step down, stating that because Musharraf "knows his own country ... (and) those radical elements there" he should continue as the leader of Pakistan. Tim Russert asked Thompson, "Because of the uniqueness and precariousness and the sensitivity of this country, would we allow General Musharraf to continue under Marshall law because he's our ally?"

"Well, when you say we allow the head of a country to stay the head of the country, that's kind of a mouthful," Thompson replied. "I don't think we ought to look at it whether or not we allow someone to stand or not. The question is what's our relationship going to be like with him, what kind of support are we going to give. ... Our job right now is to make sure we know all that he knows and the reasons why he's doing why he's doing."

On Iraq, Thompson said he would continue to follow the set course, including a planned gradual troop withdrawal beginning next spring or summer "as part of the success scenario." Yet, he did not say when the last troops would be able to leave, saying we would need to be a buffer for "several years."

Thompson v. 2004 Republican Platform: Abortion
Russert asked Thompson if he would align himself with the 2004 Republican Party Platform on abortion, which called for "a human life amendment to the Constitution ... to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children." Thompson's simple response was "No."

Although Thompson touted his 100% pro-life voting record, he called for states to be the ultimate decision makers. "People ought to be free, at state and local levels, to make decisions even Fred Thompson disagrees with,” he said. “That's what freedom is about."

While he called for no federal funding or legislation that would assist in abortion, Thompson also came out against a federal law. "Nobody's proposed a federal law on this,” he said. “Nobody's recently proposed a federal constitutional amendment."

He continued, "I do not think it is a wise thing to criminalize young girls. It's not a sense of the Senate. You're talking about potential criminal law. I said those things are going to ultimately be one in the hearts and minds of people."

This last line, "hearts and minds of people," is something Giuliani often says. Unlike Thompson who touts a 100 percent pro-life voting record, Giuliani is often portrayed as pro-choice. By using this line and saying he cannot agree to the 2004 Republican platform, has Thompson opened a can of worms for Romney and others to say Thompson is not a true Christian conservative?

"I Didn't Say That ..."
On several occasions, when confronted with his own quotes from earlier in the campaign, Thompson claimed he was misquoted. Russert brought up Thompson's quote from South Carolina last week when the candidate said the Iraqi insurgency is "a bunch of kids with improvised explosive devices." Thompson deflected, saying, "That's not exactly what I said."

We checked our video recording and this is what Thompson said on Oct. 25 in Bluffton, S.C.: "We would not be a safer America if the whole world watches us be defeated by a bunch of kids with improvised explosive devices."

On Meet the Press this morning, Thompson attempted to clarify his position by discussing the youth who are recruited. "I was talking about will and unity and the perception that we're going to have around the world," Thompson said. "I said the United States of America cannot be perceived as having run out of Iraq with our tail between our legs because of a bunch of kids on the border there making improvised explosive devices. ... They call them improvised for a reason. They are pretty low-tech kind of operations by people probably without much education, and they can be taught to do this and they are causing great damage to us."

Russert also brought up something Thompson said in Iowa on Oct. 1 that Sadaam Hussein "had had" weapons of mass destruction before the United States’ invasion of the country. "Amazingly, they got that one a little bit wrong," Thompson responded. "What I was pointing out, he had clearly, before, and years before the invasion, he had weapons of mass destruction ... That's beyond dispute."

We checked this one on tape as well and this is what Thompson said in Newton, Iowa: "We can't forget the fact that although at a particular point in time we never found any weapons of mass destruction down there, he clearly had had weapons of mass destruction. He clearly had had the beginnings of a nuclear program. And in my estimation his intent never did change. And by today, he clearly would have had that rejuvenated, especially looking at what Iran said that it's doing."

On his health
The only topic that Thompson seemed less than fully prepared to discuss with Russert was his own health. In 2004, Thompson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is now in remission. When questioned on the status of his diagnosis and if cancer has had any relation to his recent weight loss, Thompson seemed to dismiss the question, saying that he underwent a recent round of tests in September and he is "100 percent free and clear."

"[My weight loss is] not health-related," Thompson said. "I--we got a diet around our house that was imposed awhile back and basically, if it tastes real good don't eat it. But I was encouraged by my wife and other people in the health field to watch my cholesterol, to watch my weight, to exercise more. I exercise on a regular basis and I eat better than I ever have.

"Some people in the news media asked for [the results of my recent tests]. I sent it to them. I didn't make a public announcement but I had all the tests. The doctor put out a statement; I'm in good shape. In all fairness, I get a lot of conversation about this, and it’s totally legitimate. The American people have a right to know--I have a right to know and so does my family."

But Thompson also refused to go into the specifics of his condition, instead saying that he has been told that he has one of the least harmful types of lymphoma, and that he isn't the only presidential candidate who has faced this type of health crisis.

"There [are] a couple of other guys running for president, too, who have also had to deal with [cancer]," Thompson said, adding that he is not opposed to releasing some of his medical records if that's what other candidates have done. "I will release, you know--whatever the common practice is. I mean I have to go back and look and see what other people have done--what's appropriate...I put my doctor out there to answer all the questions. And I'll continue, when appropriate, to answer any questions anybody's got. It's a fair subject. I'm fortunate and like my other colleagues on the campaign trail I assume, I've got the kind [of cancer] that you can--you can deal with. There's 30-something different kinds of lymphoma, and I've supposedly got one of the better kinds."

NOTES: We noticed more than 30 "umms" from Thompson before losing count and at least nine throat clearings -- often right before answering a difficult question.

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