It's a Shame Fred Thompson Isn't Doing Better

After reading this question that was posed to Fred Thompson and his answer, I can't help but think it's a shame that he's not doing better in the campaign (h/t Instapundit):

AKD: What will you do for the farmers of Bremer County?

FT: (laughs)

AKD: You knew this was coming, right?

FT: I would continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I’ve been looking all over Iowa for a bad steak and I can’t find it. Been trying my best. It’s not a matter of what I would do for the farmers. Farmers are not looking for a president to hand them something. Farmers want fair treatment and a chance to prosper in a free economy and that’s what I would help ensure. There’s a lot of programs we’ve got out there, some of which are good programs, some of which are not. And I think that we need to work our way through that and make sure we’re doing what’s good for the country, not just the farmers, not just the people of Iowa, not just the people of Tennessee. But good for the country. A sound policy that makes sense. I think there’s a lot more that we could do for the working farmer in terms of ecological programs and environmental programs - land conservation, soil conservation - that would be fair and it would be beneficial to the nation and to Iowa and to our country. We’re going to have to phase out the corporate welfare system we’ve got, however. There are extremely rich people living in skyscrapers in Manhattan that are receiving subsidy payments. I think that’s wrong. I’d put a stop to that if it was within my power. That still continues in this latest Farm Bill and it’s not right. There ought to be a cutoff at some level and it’s not right ot have millionaires receiving farm subsidies.

Just about every other candidate would give a litany of government programs designed to prop up the farm industry, but Fred suggests the real solution is getting government out of the way and eliminating subsidies that don't make sense. When I read a response like this is reminds me that Fred is probably the only true conservative we have running and it doesn't look like he has a chance to win thanks to a somewhat lackluster campaign.

Instead we have conservatives lining up behind Mike Huckabee because he agrees with them on two issues - gay marriage and abortion - neither of which the president can do much about. And all the while they ignore his liberal history as governor of Arkansas. If Huckabee is a real conservative, explain this:

Since he's running in the Republican primaries for president, don't expect Mike Huckabee to be advertising the strong endorsement he just got from Ted Strickland, Ohio's Democratic governor.

It seems Mr. Strickland, who typically racked up a 95% rating from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action during his 16 years in Congress, has discovered a kindred spirit in Mr. Huckabee. He told the Cincinnati Enquirer last Sunday that Mr. Huckabee is a "combination of conservative views in some ways, but very, almost liberal views in other ways." Mr. Strickland concluded: "Of all the Republican candidates, Mr. Huckabee would be my personal choice."

While Mr. Strickland didn't specifically mention education as an area where he shares agreement with Mr. Huckabee's "almost liberal views," it's notable that the former Arkansas governor was endorsed for the GOP nomination this month by the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association. Mr. Huckabee has sent mixed signals on support for school choice, but the president of the NEA in New Hampshire cited opposition to school vouchers that Mr. Huckabee apparently expressed in his meeting with the union as a key reason for the endorsement.

As for Mr. Strickland, he has become one of the most vociferous opponents of school choice anywhere in the country. Earlier this year, he attempted to end Ohio's statewide school choice experiment with a line-item veto, called for a moratorium on new charter schools, and said he would like to ban for-profit companies from operating schools in Ohio. It's frequently said politics makes strange bedfellows, but in the case of Ohio's Democratic governor lavishing praise on Republican Mike Huckabee, it appears to be a case of two peas in a pod.

I wish we could do this whole thing over and get Fred into the race earlier and with more gusto.