Duncan Mansfield, The Associated Press, July 16, 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – If one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, then one politician’s old papers are potentially another politician’s — or journalist’s — gold mine.
Which explains why Republican Fred Thompson’s previously little-noticed personal papers at the University of Tennessee from his eight years in the Senate are suddenly in demand as he nears a decision on a 2008 presidential run.
Thompson donated the documents four years ago when he gave up his political career in favor of acting. Academics haven’t paid much attention, chief archivist Bobby Holt said, but journalists have been poring through the more than 400 boxes held by UT’s Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.
While the papers haven’t yielded any bombshells so far, they reveal a candidate whose record on public issues is sometimes inconsistent, often nuanced and occasionally surprising. Some examples:
” Thompson recently said he was opposed to abortion rights and noted that National Right to Life endorsed him in his 1994 Senate race. But he told the Memphis group FLARE (Family, Life, America, Responsible Education Under God) in a 1996 questionnaire that, “I will not set a litmus test for any U.S. Supreme court nominee who has shown an understanding of the principles set forth by the Constitution.”
As a senator, Thompson voted for legislation to ban so-called partial-birth abortion and to prohibit federal funding of abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.
But he also told the Eagle Forum in a 1994 questionnaire, “I do not believe abortion should be criminalized. This battle will be won in the hearts and souls of the American people.”
Wonder how much his haircuts cost?
Comment by greyhawk — July 17, 2007 @ 9:06 am