Fairly or not, Republicans from Trent Lott on down have been grousing lately about Sen. Fred Thompson and his handling of the campaign-finance hearings. It turns out that grousing about Thompson has a long history among Republicans, a history stretching all the way back to the martyred President Nixon.
From Abuse of Power: The New Nixon Tapes, published this month by the Free Press, we offer this choice tidbit, dated February. 22, 1973:
HALDEMAN: Minority counsel is aware of the way things work in Washington, and we can handle a guy like Sam Dash, majority counsel. Oh, Baker has appointed Fred Thompson minority counsel.
PRESIDENT NIXON: Oh s--- , that kid.
HALDEMAN: I guess so.
PRESIDENT NIXON: They are going to lose them all . . . . It's too damn bad the kid (unintelligible).
HALDEMAN: I guess that's the way it is. Is this Fred Thompson the young guy from Tennessee?
PRESIDENT NIXON: Yes.
HALDEMAN: Do you know him?
PRESIDENT NIXON: Yes. He is a young kid.
HALDEMAN: Well, we're stuck with him.
PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah, I know.
Like so much about Watergate, that "(unintelligible)" is tantalizing. What did the president know about Fred Thompson, and when did he know it?