Ohio4Fred

Joel Achenbach of WashingtonPost.com decided to take issue with the Fred and Jeri Thompson interview that aired on Hannity and Colmes the other night, and it’s not for reasons you’d think. As a Thompson supporter, I have grown accustomed to the litany of complaints about Fred Thompson, and after awhile you learn to tune them out. There is only so many times I can hear the word lazy and Fred Thompson in the same sentence, so thank goodness Achenbach just tap dances around it,

Thompson is running a strong second in the national polls, and has single-handedly restored to common usage the word “laconic.” He mulled a presidential run back in the spring, then ambled into the race about a month ago, and may soon get around to saying why he should be president. This is a man who cannot be rushed…

But wait there’s more!

…More problematic is his style on the stump, which, to hear reporters tell it, has the tendency to stupefy the audience. He’s as vague as the day is long. He has to cue his listeners that it would be an appropriate time to clap. But some folks may find him a calming, reassuring presence. They may get the sense that, no matter what crisis might erupt, Thompson won’t get too riled about it, and it’ll still soon be nap time.

While the article starts in with the same litany of complaints, it didn’t take long for Mr. Achenbach to bust out a new one.

Thompson’s children were a distraction.

As a wife and mother, I cannot tell you how much that bothers me. But then again, what should I expect from a society that places such little emphasis on the most precious and innocent among us? Children are seen as nothing more than a celebrity fashion statement, or a “choice” with no rights and no voice. Some in society expect the rest of us to see children as an inconvenience. I simply refuse to do that. I watched the interview while my 3.5 year old son proceeded to use me as his own personal jungle gym and while posting a few short news stories to Falcons for Fred. I’m not sure how I did it, but somehow I managed to focus on Mr. and Mrs. Thompson and hear 99 percent of what they said. I guess those of us with children are able to effectively multi-task more-so than your average political pundit/blogger. Achenbach goes on to write,

The unflappable nature of Thompson was on display on Wednesday night when he and his wife, Jeri, sat for an interview with Sean Hannity. The first segment began with each parent holding a child. Jeri held the little one, Samuel, who quickly disappeared off-camera, but Fred kept 4-year-old Hayden parked on his left leg for six minutes, even as the little angel did everything in her diabolical power to distract the viewer.

She puffed her cheeks. She waved her hands. She counted. She hummed. She sang. She scratched her nose. She bit on her blouse. She scuffed her palms together as if washing her hands of a problem. To her credit, she didn’t squirm: She was, in fact, a very well behaved young lady, but like much of America she had not the slightest interest in whatever the candidate was saying.

Children can be excellent political props. Usually they are lined up in front of the politician, or perhaps on risers behind, serving as a kind of bunting. The stagecraft in the Hannity interview was presumably intended by the Thompson campaign to humanize the candidate and soften the image of his wife, who has been the target of accusations that she’s more ambitious than he is. Message: I couldn’t get a sitter! What professional Mom wouldn’t relate?

I don’t really think you need to humanize Fred Thompson or his wife. Let’s leave the maniacal fake laughter to Hillary Clinton. It’s her image that needs to be softened not Jeri’s, but I digress. However, that wasn’t the worst of it,

The presidential candidate, meanwhile, said … well, who knows what he said. The kid stole the show. Surely viewers were shouting at the TV screen, “Hand her to the nanny!”

Spoken like a true liberal. Just shove the children off to the babysitter, nanny or day care. You mean parents aren’t supposed to raise their children? Nolan must have been distracting me again, because I obviously missed another memo. I for one applaud Fred and Jeri Thompson for having their children there on set with them for part of the Sean Hannity interview. I applaud them for campaigning as a family. Some will say the children are being used as a political prop, but I simply don’t see it that way. I see it as a mother and father who deeply love their children and share all aspects of family life TOGETHER. Wow, there’s a novel idea — parents raising their own children, spending time with them and being responsible for their care. The United States would be a much better place if all parents were as invested in their children as Fred and Jeri are. Obviously, it’s no secret that I disagree with the Hillary Clinton mantra of “it takes a village to raise a child”. Because it’s typically the one’s who tell you it takes a village that have the nannies. As a parent, it’s my job (along with my husband) to raise our son. The job does not belong to his grandparents, his Preschool teacher, or his aunts or uncles. But try telling socialists that. To make an issue out of Hayden and Samuel at an interview is really quite petty and nit-picky. It makes the people doing it look like a bunch of jackasses.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 10:49 pm and is filed under issues, Editorials / Guest Columns, General Discussion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.