I believe Fred Thompson is a strong leader, with consistent conservative principles. Fred has plenty of experience in the area of national security. Thompson served as counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. One particular Thompson statement really helped me visualize what’s at stake:

“And I would ask people to think one thing before they cast a vote. When our worst enemy is sitting down at the negotiating table thinking about what he can do to the United States of America, who do you want sitting on our side of the table representing you? That’s probably the guy you ought to elect president.”

Maybe it’s unfair, but when I picture Mike Huckabee with Ahmadinejad, I imagine Mike giving him a big hug. I am not sure certain Huckabee has the courage and steely resolve to do what is needed to protect us from Islamic extremists. These candidates are competing to become Commander-in-Chief … not Preacher-in-Chief or Mr. Congeniality. Mike said this about GITMO recently:

“I’ve been to Guantanamo, I was there, I guess it’s been about a year and a half ago. I think the problem with Guantanamo is not in that its facilities are inadequate. It’s the symbol that it represents. It’s clearly become a symbol to the rest of the world as a place that has become problematic for us as a nation. I was quite frankly impressed with the quality of the facilities and even the attention to care that was given to the detainees, but that aside, it doesn’t alter that Guantanamo to the rest of the world is a symbol that is not in our best interests to continue pursuing.”

When Carolyn Washburn asked the candidates what they believed they could accomplish in their first year as president, Huckabee replied:

“Who’s fighting for this country again? And somehow, we’ve got to quit even fighting among ourselves as conservatives and as Republicans, and start putting the better interest of our nation. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll get none of these things done. We’ve got to be the united people of the United States, and a president has got to somehow remind us that we are a great, resilient nation that has to stick together to solve all of these problems. “

While this is certainly a noble sentiment, and Washington could do with less vitriol, it smacks a bit too much of compromise. Sure, it’d be great if “we could all just get along,” but I hope that doesn’t mean compromising our values and security to placate minority fringe groups. I want a President who has strong conservative principles and stands by them.

This is Fred Thompson’s answer to the same question:

“I’d tell them that if they didn’t already know it, we’re bankrupting the next generation and nobody even wants to talk about it, much less do anything about it. I’d tell them that judges are setting our social policy now in this country and that’s going to stop. And then I’d bring in members of Congress and say, look, I just got a mandate. We can work and cooperate together or I’ll go over your head to the American people.”

Now that’s someone I can get behind!

<–Part 1 // <–Part 2

Links of Interest

• Thompson’s Foreign Policy Record
• Huckabee’s Foreign Policy Record
• Fred Thompson’s Speech at the Citadel
• Huckabee’s Playground Diplomacy