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» Candidate/Organization: Fred Thompson
» Other Candidates Mentioned: Fred Thompson
» Year: 2007
» States: None
» Race: Presidential
» Party: Republican
» Funded by: Candidate
» Disseminations: TV, Web

Ad Content

» Cues: At work, Candidate Present, Courtroom, Documents
» Issues: Civil Rights, Constituent Services, Corruption, Crime, Integrity
» Tone: Positive
» Types: Biographical, Endorsement, Factual
» Music: Inspirational
» Characters: Marie Ragghianti
» Narrator: Female
» Language: English

Analysis

By AP: ANALYSIS: The ads focus attention on two high-profile events from the 1970s that launched Thompson into the spotlight _ the Watergate hearings and the Ragghianti case. In the Watergate investigation, Thompson was the questioner who elicited White House aide Alexander Butterfield's stunning public revelation that President Nixon had a secret taping system in the White House. Butterfield had notified committee investigators days earlier that the tapes existed, however, and Thompson had warned the White House in advance that it would be revealed. TOOLBOX Resize Text Save/Share + Digg Newsvine del.icio.us Stumble It! Reddit Facebook Print This E-mail This COMMENT No comments have been posted about this item. Comments are closed for this article. Discussion Policy Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this article The ads misrepresent Thompson's role in Blanton's downfall. Blanton did go to prison, but he was never charged in the "cash-for-clemency" scandal that was at the heart of the Ragghianti case. "This was purely a civil case for monetary damages, there wasn't any jail for anybody," said Hayes Cooney, who was the deputy state attorney general who opposed Thompson in the Ragghianti case. "Surely someone got that wrong, because this case didn't have anything to do with sending someone to the pen." Thompson spokeswoman Karen Hanretty said the word "helping" in the ad modifies the clause "sending a crooked Democratic governor to jail." She added: "To say that Fred wasn't involved in bringing down the Tennessee governor is like saying Eliot Ness wasn't involved in sending Al Capone to prison, since Capone was charged with tax evasion." Ragghianti was chairwoman of Tennessee's Board of Pardons and Paroles. She accused Blanton of firing her for refusing to go along with the clemency scheme. With Thompson's help, Ragghianti was reinstated and won $38,000 in back pay. The case became a book and the book became a movie starring Sissy Spacek. Thompson played himself, a role that propelled his acting career. ad_icon Thompson has already run ads in Iowa casting himself as a "consistent conservative" and as an opponent of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. The new ads highlight the law and order chapters of his biography without having to exploit his five seasons playing a prosecutor on the NBC television drama "Law & Order." Thompson has been advertising heavily in Iowa, spending more than $230,000 a week on television spots. More...