Today more than any day has brought home the realization that it is absolutely critical that the President of the United States understands how the world operates. I just came across an article from December 19, 2007 by Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard. He was covering a Fred Thompson campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa. Fred had just given a 25-minute speech and taking questions from the audience. Here is part of his report:
One Iowan asked: "What about habeas corpus?" Thompson explained that terrorists captured elsewhere are not entitled to the protections provided in the U.S. Constitution. Then he turned his attention to Huckabee.
"I'm not here to run anybody down tonight," he said. "I'm in the Christmas spirit. Sort of. But when I hear one of the fellows who's running for the Republican nomination say that we need to shut down Guantanamo and bring those prisoners over here. I don't know if he realizes it or not, but when they touch American soil they're going to get rights they don't ordinarily have."
He continued: "The notion that we're going to ingratiate ourselves if we do that, to our enemies or foreign governments--I wonder if he understands how the world really operates." Thompson's tone is one of incredulousness, and, after a short pause, he finishes the thought. "I don't wonder, either. I think I have a pretty good idea."
This is the real deal. We definitely do not need to wonder if the next President of the United States understands how the world operates.
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