Fred Thompson -- the Republican who Nixon called "dumb as hell" -- finally showed up at his first debate. Even after all his studying and prepping, Freddie was obviously nervous as he stood on stage at the Republican presidential debate in Michigan. The former Tennessee senator spent so much time looking down at his notes that you had to wonder if he had a cheat sheet.
But Rudy and Romney stole the show by fighting over who cut the most taxes and relentlessly attacking America's number one enemy, Hillary Clinton. I counted "Hillary" 13 times in the transcript.
Thompson did not challenge any of his rivals, and that may have helped him get through the debate without any of his infamous in-your-face gaffes. His largely mediocre and boring answers were riddled with inconsistencies, errors, and over-simplifications.
Freddie's plan to solve Social Security's projected shortfall was judged by Social Security expert Dean Baker as "wrong" since it would instead result in a large cut.
In Thompson's view, the economy is rosy and dynamic. For Hollywood actors and former lobbyists, yeah. Somebody forgot to tell Freddie that in Michigan, the state that hosted the debate, the economy is generally described as downright "miserable."
In response to debate moderator Maria Bartiromo's assertion that two-thirds of Americans believe we are "either in a recession or headed toward one," Freddie Thompson said it ain't true, we are not even headed for a recession.
What do silly Americans know?
But where Freddie excelled was in the field of "dumb as hell" sound-bites. Like: "Well, in a dynamic economy, there are jobs lost and there are jobs gained."
Duh.
'Dynamic' Michigan has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last few years, with thousands more now at risk.
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