The other day, the Politico's Roger Simon interviewed Fred Thompson in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Simon casts off a lot of the filters through which the media have reported on Thompson to deliver a straightforward report. Here's the best part:
When I asked him if he is an 11th Commandment man--Never speak ill of a fellow Republican--he responded, 'I am more of a 12th Commandment man: Don't speak ill of them until they speak ill of me. And then really speak ill of them.'
The upcoming CNBC Republican debate on 9 October is a major opportunity for Thompson. If he displays the quick wit he evinces here--and doesn't dodge every policy question--then he has a good chance of building on his already impressive national poll numbers.