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During the Republican Presidential Candidate Debate on May 3, Tommy Thompson showed that he's probably doesn't have the chops for The Oval Office.
The following exchange was part of that debate:
| Moderator: | Governor Thompson, same theme. If a private employer finds homosexuality immoral, should he be allowed to fire a gay worker? |
| Thompson: | I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be. |
| Moderator: | OK. So the answer's yes. |
| Thompson: | Yes. |
The next day Thompson backpedaled so furiously that he could have won the Tour de France in reverse. He called CNN's "American Morning" and claimed that "he 'misinterpreted' the question and should have asked to have it repeated."
There are two possible ways to view this. One is that Thompson is a bigot who enjoys a good round of gay bashing. His retraction may be a way to distance himself from his hateful remark after garnering approving nods from his homophobic "base". It's the same tactic as printing a smear on the front page of a newspaper and then printing the retraction a few days later on page 27.
But let's take Thompson at his word. He's an addlepated numbskull who can't understand a question asked in plain English. He couldn't be bothered to ask for clarification. He just answered whatever it is he thought they asked and hoped they'd leave him alone.
Does this seem like the kind of man you want controlling America's military? "What do you mean you launched 'missiles' at Iran? I thought you said 'missives'! I just wanted to send them some strongly worded letters!"
President of the United States is one of the highest-pressure jobs on Earth. The campaign helps Americans learn the candidates' views on issues. But it also shows who may fold up like a cheap card table under the weight of the job. No matter how you want to take Thompson's comment, he's shown us what he's made of.
Copyright © 2007
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