Fred Thompson's new non-campaign bio - a feature of I'm With Fred dot com 2.0 - is a fascinating read, inasmuch as it provides insight into how the non-candidate will seek to shape his narrative, turning weaknesses into strengths and smoothing over the rough edges. This part [see: Fred Today], however, really caught my eye:
In the tradition of President George Washington, a leader Thompson had admired growing up, he walked away from an easy reelection victory to seek new challenges. He joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting scholar, traveled the country as speaker and served on a Wall Street advisory board. In 2005, Thompson was named by President Bush as an advisor to Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, helping to move his nomination through the Senate confirmation process. Thompson continued his public service as chairman of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board.
OK, Mitt Romney might have just compared himself to Ronald Reagan, so comparisons to other presidents are fair game.But George Washington?
Really?
Somehow, it appears that Mr. Thompson has--much like his Republican brethren--cherry-picked the lessons learned from the leaders he claims to admire...would that he would internalize some of Washington's feelings about the Unitary Executive and the importance of the balance of powers.
