Thompson greets packed room at Hotel Ottumwa

By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

OTTUMWA — Fred Thompson’s campaign slogged through yet another winter storm to get to Ottumwa supporters on Friday. His reward was a packed room at Hotel Ottumwa.

The audience was younger than that for most campaign events. It helped that school is out for the winter break. And it helped that Thompson’s visit was in the middle of the day. That was part of what convinced Phil and Constance Cavanaugh to bring their three children.

Not that the Cavanaughs follow the school schedule. They home school the kids.

“It’s the timing of the event, and he’s my second choice,” Phil said. “This is government class today.”

The Cavanaughs illustrate just how fluid the race remains with less than a week to go. They support Mike Huckabee, who also scheduled an Ottumwa visit. But their support isn’t carved in stone. They still want to hear other candidates.

“We want to hear where he stands on some issues,” Constance said.

That kind of attitude is why Thompson and other candidates are blitzing Iowa in the campaign’s final days. Thompson trails in polls, but things can change fast. Everyone remembers Howard Dean’s stunning slide from the top position four years ago.

This year’s campaign was sliced by the holiday season. Candidates might have had a day off, but it’s solid campaigning since the day after Christmas. And it looks like it’s going to stay that way. Thompson said the peak of the caucus campaign is a natural match with the holiday season.

“I think the season and the politics kind of go hand in hand. Some people say that it’s unfortunate that things overlap. I don’t think it’s unfortunate. I think it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s a time we think about what’s important,” he said.

Thompson repeated his campaign’s basic conservative stances during his comments. But he also took time to point out his record as a federal prosecutor who took on a president during Watergate and a Tennessee governor a few years later.

Thompson said it was too late for candidates to be coy about asking for support. He asked the audience to take a hard look at the candidates, ask what candidates’ beliefs are and whether those beliefs match their personal views.

Thompson said border security is both a national security issue and a fairness question for those who want to come to the U.S. legally.

“We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates,” he said. “We’re a nation that processes about 1 million green cards per year. That’s more than we did in the early 1990s.”

Sanctuary cities don’t have a place in Thompson’s immigration policy. He said cities must enforce the law, not exempt themselves from it. He also blasted judges who don’t enforce the Constitution, but “make it up as they go along.”

International issues weighed on Thompson as well. He said Pakistan has become a very dangerous flashpoint with the death of Benazir Bhutto. The assassination illustrates radical Islam’s willingness to kill anyone who might work with the United States and might stand in their way.

He told the Courier in an interview after his speech that balancing Pakistan’s stability and pushing for a return to democratic government was made much more difficult by Bhutto’s assassination.

Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com