Fred Thompson "Doesn't Know The Details" Of Bush's Social Security Plan, But He's For It

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

One of the principal knocks on actor/lobbyist/senator Fred Thompson's presidential aspirations is that he's kind of lazy and unwilling to go beyond the pleasantries and soundbites. He's an all-hat, no-cattle candidate who doesn't even take his own policy priorities seriously.

After one day as a candidate, Thompson is already reinforcing the conventional wisdom.

Fred Thompson says a top challenge for the next president is fixing Social Security. Asked how his ideas for overhauling the system differ from those of George W. Bush, the actor and former Tennessee senator says: "I don't even remember the details of his plan."

Got that? Social Security policy is one of the reasons he's running for president, Thompson says, so it's presumably an issue he knows quite a bit about. Asked about Bush's policy proposal -- from just two years ago -- Thompson is surprisingly clueless.

It's not as if some reporter caught him off-guard with a gotcha question -- he brought Social Security up.

Thompson will have to demonstrate that he has "a command over policy issues," said Ari Fleischer, Bush's former White House spokesman. "He's got to knock the policy questions out of the park," as well as show executive skill in managing his campaign.

So much for that idea. Best of all, as Ezra noted, "And Fred, you may not remember whether you support Social Security privatization, but the internets do. The answer is yes."

It looks like Fred Thompson's campaign is off to a great start, doesn't it?

On a related note, I finally got around to watching Thompson on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from yesterday. Here's the substantive part of the interview:

http://alternet.org/module/printversion/61899/?type=blog

Most of this was pretty boilerplate, but Thompson's comments did reflect the kind of policy depth -- which is to say, no policy depth -- that's going to cause him trouble on the campaign trail. If we didn't invade Iraq, Saddam would have continued his nuclear weapons program? He didn't have one. The goal in Iraq is to prevent Iraqis from being killed by al Qaeda? That's not the principal challenge of the conflict. The U.S. is unpopular internationally because we're "prosperous"? We've been the richest country in the world for a few generations, but we weren't reviled on the global stage until fairly recently.

Maybe Thompson can read a book or two and get back to us.

[mawilson 2,133]

I thought Bush's plan for Social Security was to have none (i.e. switch to personal retirement accounts?)

What's Fred's plan? (Maybe Gary knows.)

[no name 1]

What's Fred's plan? (Maybe Gary knows.)

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Why do I get the impression Fred's campaign will implode as soon as he's forced to debate the other candidates?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why do I get the impression Fred's campaign will implode as soon as he's forced to debate the other candidates?

Because you have common sense and good intuition.

[almaty 19]

Fred is a better actor than a politician..he will be gone after 3 primaries

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Why do I get the impression Fred's campaign will implode as soon as he's forced to debate the other candidates?

maybe he won't debate.

it is early in the game, but wow, sure seems like all-hat no-cattle situation.

Daniel

:energetic:

[maria_n_john 0]

Yeah, but he's got a hot wife.....

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Yeah, but he's got a hot wife.....

that be true. maybe that is why he don't have much energy for anything else.

Daniel

:energetic:

[no name 1]

Huckabee Challenges Thompson to debate

Who wants to bet yes on that one?

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Huckabee Challenges Thompson to debate

Who wants to bet yes on that one?

who is huckabee? a relative of huckleberry finn? if so, i'd say wins. maybe fred will challenge him to som wrasslin'.

Daniel

:energetic:

[GaryC 7]

Mrs Scandal doesn't have a plan. Her head is in the sand (or maybe someplace not that pleasent) on Social Security.

HILLARY ON SOCIAL SECURITY

From NBC's Andy Merten and Mark Murray

After hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire and Iowa with her husband over the Labor Day weekend, Hillary Clinton returned to Washington today addressing the Alliance for Retired Americans today. She stuck mostly to her standard stump speech after taking stage and finding the podium rushed by enthusiastic senior citizens wielding digital cameras. “I see a lot of fellow baby boomers, and we’re all thinking about the problems we’ll confront,” Clinton said.

She focused heavily on the issues of Medicare and Social Security, saying, “Now you don’t have to worry –- when I’m president, privatization is off the table." Clinton added that reducing benefits and raising the retirement age is not the answer. “We need to get back to the fiscal responsibility that we had in the 1990s,” she added. (If reducing benefits or raising the retirement age isn't the answer to making the system solvent, then what is -- raising taxes?)

While Clinton made a point to draw upon nostalgic pictures of the time the former President Clinton spent in office, she only mentioned him directly once. “When my husband left office, we had a secure Social Security system until 2055, and then, all of a sudden, the Bush Administration took us back into deficits.”

Wait a second: Is that right? A 2001 Social Security Board of Trustees report said the program would remain solvent until 2038, not 2055. The Clinton campaign has yet to respond to messages First Read left seeking comment.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200.../04/344805.aspx

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Mrs Scandal doesn't have a plan. Her head is in the sand (or maybe someplace not that pleasent) on Social Security.

HILLARY ON SOCIAL SECURITY

From NBC's Andy Merten and Mark Murray

After hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire and Iowa with her husband over the Labor Day weekend, Hillary Clinton returned to Washington today addressing the Alliance for Retired Americans today. She stuck mostly to her standard stump speech after taking stage and finding the podium rushed by enthusiastic senior citizens wielding digital cameras. “I see a lot of fellow baby boomers, and we’re all thinking about the problems we’ll confront,” Clinton said.

She focused heavily on the issues of Medicare and Social Security, saying, “Now you don’t have to worry –- when I’m president, privatization is off the table." Clinton added that reducing benefits and raising the retirement age is not the answer. “We need to get back to the fiscal responsibility that we had in the 1990s,” she added. (If reducing benefits or raising the retirement age isn't the answer to making the system solvent, then what is -- raising taxes?)

While Clinton made a point to draw upon nostalgic pictures of the time the former President Clinton spent in office, she only mentioned him directly once. “When my husband left office, we had a secure Social Security system until 2055, and then, all of a sudden, the Bush Administration took us back into deficits.”

Wait a second: Is that right? A 2001 Social Security Board of Trustees report said the program would remain solvent until 2038, not 2055. The Clinton campaign has yet to respond to messages First Read left seeking comment.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200.../04/344805.aspx

Is that suppose to make Fred's lack of depth seem deeper? Remember, these are the primaries and he's got to make it past all those Republicans before you can even begin to figure out how he'll match up to Hillary.

[GaryC 7]

Mrs Scandal doesn't have a plan. Her head is in the sand (or maybe someplace not that pleasent) on Social Security.

HILLARY ON SOCIAL SECURITY

From NBC's Andy Merten and Mark Murray

After hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire and Iowa with her husband over the Labor Day weekend, Hillary Clinton returned to Washington today addressing the Alliance for Retired Americans today. She stuck mostly to her standard stump speech after taking stage and finding the podium rushed by enthusiastic senior citizens wielding digital cameras. “I see a lot of fellow baby boomers, and we’re all thinking about the problems we’ll confront,” Clinton said.

She focused heavily on the issues of Medicare and Social Security, saying, “Now you don’t have to worry –- when I’m president, privatization is off the table." Clinton added that reducing benefits and raising the retirement age is not the answer. “We need to get back to the fiscal responsibility that we had in the 1990s,” she added. (If reducing benefits or raising the retirement age isn't the answer to making the system solvent, then what is -- raising taxes?)

While Clinton made a point to draw upon nostalgic pictures of the time the former President Clinton spent in office, she only mentioned him directly once. “When my husband left office, we had a secure Social Security system until 2055, and then, all of a sudden, the Bush Administration took us back into deficits.”

Wait a second: Is that right? A 2001 Social Security Board of Trustees report said the program would remain solvent until 2038, not 2055. The Clinton campaign has yet to respond to messages First Read left seeking comment.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200.../04/344805.aspx

Is that suppose to make Fred's lack of depth seem deeper? Remember, these are the primaries and he's got to make it past all those Republicans before you can even begin to figure out how he'll match up to Hillary.

He will get the nomination. I trust Fred much more than Mrs Scandal. Wait and see, he just announced yesterday.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

He will get the nomination. I trust Fred much more than Mrs Scandal. Wait and see, he just announced yesterday.

You're that certain or what do you think he must do in order to grab the nomination? In other words, do you think it's necessary for him to debate with the other Republican candidates?