Fred Thompson: The Role He Was Born to Play?
» LAT: Will Fred Thompson's racist role have political repercussions?
... can "Law & Order" actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) become the first presidential candidate with this credit? Thompson played a white supremacist, spewing anti-Semitic comments and fondling an autographed copy of "Mein Kampf" on a television drama 19 years ago....
The role is not something Thompson, who is in Orange County for a speech today, has talked a lot about in recent years. (His spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment this week.) In an appearance before the American Bakers Assn. in Phoenix last year, Thompson mentioned that he had a part on "Wiseguy," but he did not go into details. He summed up his acting career this way: "I played a CIA director, FBI director, an FBI agent, a senator, an admiral, a White House chief of staff, corporate execs and myself twice," Thompson said in the speech. "Some might say I was playing myself on each of these occasions. In each of these roles it seemed as if I had either known the guy I was playing or someone like him.
"So instead of studying admirals or generals, etc., I envisioned that I, Fred Thompson, had become an admiral or general and played myself…. The range was narrow, but I was establishing myself as the character actor for authority figures."
Emphasis mine, but they clearly speak for themselves. For the sake of those who are incapable of reading properly anything written by someone who's of another political party, that's not to suggest that Thompson is an anti-semite. It is to say that he might want to think twice before suggesting that his acting credits legitimize himself as a potential President.
That said, the partisan in me is just downright begging the Republicans to nominate this man.
This post is probably the biggest pile of steaming cowpie I have read in a very long time.
First the only person suggesting that Thompson's "acting credits legitimize himself as a potential President" are you and a few other clueless imbeciles on the left.
Second, tto conjecture that playing a role specific sometime in his career indicates anything about his real life persona is ludicrous on it's face.
Next time you need surgery I suggest you hire one of the actors who play a Doctor on Daytime television to do the job as your reasoning would suggest he would be eminently qualified.
Nice to see the deep thinking intellectuals coming out of the woodworks. Just a hint, Rob - maybe you should read the words of former Senator Thompson before you assign conjecture to anyone.
"Some might say I was playing myself" ... his words, not mine. I'm heartened that Fred can find his character on TV by "envisioning" himself in the role. But I'm at least a little sceptical that such methods work for being an effective President. Not that effectiveness is really a criteria that Republicans seem to have a great deal of interest in, but still.
I'm willing to bet that a fuller airing of this speech in conjunction with some of the roles he's played just might be something the rest of the country has a different degree of sympathy for than you seem to do. Apparently, you've made your case, though, and it involves a great deal of childish name-calling. Willing to bet how sympathetic that approach is with American voters?
Cheap shot, high school level. WWJS -- What would Joel say? I think he would be sad and disappointed in you.
Dale,
I'm curious to know: what's cheap about it? Was it my quote: "that's not to suggest that Thompson is an anti-semite"?
I'm curious to know: what's cheap about it? Was it my quote: "that's not to suggest that Thompson is an anti-semite"?
That allows you suggest it while backing away from it. A nice trick. Very Clintonesque.