Son,

Fred Thompson smugly announced his candidacy for president on the Jay Leno Show. I think he was expecting a coronation the next day. It did not happen. I don’t know a great deal about him – mostly what the talking heads report. I do know that he was a United States Senator and then a Republican lobbyist, and then decided he would rather be an actor.

Because he is an actor people like to compare him to Ronald Reagan. How misguided and shallow. Ronald Reagan left acting to become a politician and never looked back. He was the Governor of California for eight years. California is the fifth largest economic power in the world. Fred Thompson reads scripts.

Fred Thompson did very well in the polls as long as he stood above the fray. His image carried him – he did not have to have substance. Now he has entered the race and he will have to stand beside some really powerful and intelligent people. He will be on the stage tonight in his first Republican debate. It will be interesting to see how he stacks up against men such as Mike Huckabee and John McCain. (I like the character of these two men.) Fred Thompson is best known as an actor playing a Law and Order character – he will be on the stage tonight with Rudy Guiliani – a real crime fighter.

In the title of this post I referred to Thompson as a typical modern conservative. By that I mean a person who does not want to bother thinking about how we can be better as a people. If we are to change – then let us change backwards. Let us return to the days when a drunken man could beat his wife in their front yard and the police would tell them to take their fight inside so they don’t disturb the neighbors. Let us return to the days when a school teacher could beat discipline into our children. Let us return to the days when science was not allowed in the physician’s office. Let us return to the days when the earth was the center of the universe.

The modern conservative has forgotten the ideology of State’s Rights, of Economic responsibility, of Defending the Bill of Rights, of Responsible Corporations. I personally value these ideologies – but not at the cost of stifling the advancement of civilization. The conservatives of years past worked hard for social justice – while managing their money responsibility. The conservatives of years past valued education and science.

The conservatives of years past would never give in to a bunch of religious radical loonies. The conservatives of years past had the courage of their convictions. They had true faith.

Dad