Thompson brings fresh endorsement to Spencer

Photos by Randy Cauthron Presidential candidate Fred Thompson remembers his cowboy hat as he tours downtown Spencer and greets holiday shoppers during a campaign stop Friday afternoon.

Daily Reporter Staff

Like the bread in the bakery he visited, Fred Thompson insists his numbers are on the rise.

He blanched at suggestions Friday that he's among a pack of candidates hovering at around 10 percent and fighting for third-place support in Iowa.

Since the numbers were collected, Thompson has taken on an ambitious bus tour, including Friday's stop in Spencer. A tough on illegal immigration candidate has dropped out of the race and he's secured the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Steve King, the congressman serving the conservative-leaning western third of Iowa.

King accompanied Thompson on his campaign stop.

"I looked at all of these candidates, met with them in private and I asked them where they stand and what they believe in -- what do they understand about the constitution, what's their sense of America's destiny and how they're going to take us there," King said. "Will they make appointments to the Supreme Court that will defend innocent human life and marriage and will they defend our borders and our national sovereignty? When I came down to the end, there was only one man who I have confidence in doing that."

The occasional actor and former U.S. Senator from Tennessee had some coffee at Carroll's Bakery & Deli and talked about the course of the campaign:

Q: Wait a day and it seems like the climate changes in the GOP race, so tell me how you feel things are going now that you've had a chance to hit the western side of Iowa a little bit.

A: I think things are focusing now. People are paying more attention. They're going to make up their minds -- the numbers indicate a lot of people haven't made up their mind yet and we like it like that. I'm traveling here with Congressman Steve King -- he's endorsing me -- and that means a lot with me. He's just the kind of guy I want to be associated with and he's campaigning hard for me. We're getting good crowds and a good response. A lot of the commentators are saying we're kind of the wild card in this thing. It's fluid. We're picking up and we're showing pretty good but we need to show better. By Jan. 3, I think we will.

Q: What do you think that difference will be from getting that "wild card" status switched over to people actually turning out and supporting you on caucus night?

A: I think just keep on doing what we're doing. I think it is a mistake for a candidate -- especially a candidate for president -- to tailor his message to the circumstances and tailor himself to the circumstances. You've got to stick with what you believe. I've been a strong, common-sense conservative ever since I stepped foot on the national political stage and that's where I am today. That's where I am tomorrow and that's where I'll always be. That's my message: Strong on national security, strong on illegal immigration, making our country free and prosperous and kind of like we've always been in the past. That's who I am. I know who I am and what I believe.

Q: You got in later than some of the other candidates -- kind of jumping in right around State Fair time -- now that you look back on that, are you happy with the timing? Do you think you have that timed well?

A: I do. I think the timing is good. I've seen others who have spent many millions of dollars and hired numerous, numerous people to go on their payroll. We're all in the same pack, it looks to me like. It's up for grabs. I think nowadays politicians are making a mistake if they drag out these campaigns forever and ever. With modern communications being what they are today, you've got a chance to get your message out there in a reasonable fashion. Go out there in a gent's way, do your work and get your message out just like we're doing. We're on a bus tour now that's going to touch and visit 50 towns in communities in this state. People have an opportunity to do that. I don't think it is necessary to have these multi-year, $100 million campaigns. That's not who I am or what I am about.

Q: You're at about 10 percent (referring to the CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll, conducted Dec. 14-18, and ABC News-Washington Post poll conducted Dec. 13-17)...

A: (Disagreeing) Well, now... that's kind of old news... that's a little old.

Q: Where would you like to be at (on caucus night)?

A: I'd like to be where I was when I ran in 1994 and where I was when I ran in 1996 -- and that is No. 1. I got more votes than any politician in the history of the state of Tennessee. That's where I'm used to being. I've never lost an election. I'm not used to being back in the pack in any measurable sense -- except for when I started. I started behind when I was running for the Senate. I'm expecting to do well. That's all we're counting on.

Q: Would you like to talk about immigration a little bit? That's one of Congressman King's favorite topics and with Congressman Tancredo dropping out, some of those supporters will shift a little.

A: The executive director for Congressman Tancredo and the manager for him, Bill Salier (a former U.S. Senate candidate from Nora Springs) and Angie Weaver Anderson (recently of Peterson) two leaders of his campaign have endorsed me today. It will be a mixed thing as far as Tancredo (support) is concerned. Steve King is a leader in this area. He's a guy I consulted with when I was putting together my own illegal immigration (policy) ideas and my own plan to stop illegal immigration. We've got to enforce the law and secure the borders. It is just that simple -- and make sure employers do that and make sure that we do away with sanctuary cities and cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities that won't comply. It's not right for them to telling their own local officials that they can't cooperate with federal officials in enforcing the law in term of the illegal presence of people there. Those are the things that we need to do. It's a matter of fairness and it's a matter of national security. We've arrested several thousand people in this country who originated from state sponsors of terrorism. We can't afford that in the kind of world we live in today.

Q: (From Randy Cauthron) You've been with the film and television industry, been in politics and back to films and television (most recently as New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on the NBC show Law & Order) and now you're back. What made you decide to throw your hat back in again and get back into the political arena? You seem to be having quite a bit of success in the film and T.V. industry.

A: It wasn't a matter of a lack of success. I guarantee you that. But, you know, there's a big chunk of my life that doesn't have anything to do with either the film industry or politics. I wasn't involved in either one of them for most of my career. I was a federal prosecutor. I was a counselor in the Watergate Committee, all by the age of 30. I practiced law. The reason I got into the movie business was because I took on the case of a courageous woman who was chairman of the parole board and she blew the whistle on a corrupt governor. They were selling liquor licenses, pardons, paroles and things like that in the administration. He fired her, she came to me and we sued him. We won our lawsuit. They made a movie about all of that and I wound up playing myself in the movie. It was a movie called "Marie" with Sissy Spacek. Our trial was an important part of that. After that, I started getting an offer every once in awhile -- all the time while still practicing law. Of course then I got the T.V. show. But the reason that I stepped back up again, like I did in 1994, is because I'm concerned about the country that we live in and the country that our kids are going to grow up in. I've been blessed in a lot of ways, including recently two children -- one little girl, 4 and a little boy, 1, that I am dying to get back to tomorrow. We're going to celebrate Christmas together, then we're all coming back out here to celebrate New Year's in Iowa.