Can Thompson be counted on to toe the neocon line? After seeing his performance on "Meet the Press" just prior to the Cheney-Bush shock and awe assault on Baghdad the answer would be an emphatic "yes."
Thompson, who following two terms in the Senate returned to acting and assumed the continuing regular's role of New York District Attorney on the popular NBC series "Law and Order," delivered one of his finest performances as he delivered what sounded like a script that could have been written by Ahmad Chalibi or Judith Miller.
Fred Thompson issued a grim warning that America might well face an imminent mushroom cloud assault from Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. It was therefore imperative to attack Baghdad before he rendered great harm to America.
Thompson passed that test with flying colors. He can be easily perceived performing comparable duties for the neocon global team, all the while delivering his presentation in soothing tones conducive to a pretext of "moderation." In a pragmatic ideological context he is not likely to get in the way by asking questions, content to serve as a national symbol in the manner of another professional actor, Ronald Reagan.