Wisckol Goes One-on-one with Fred Thompson

The OC Register's Martin Wisckol sat down with possible GOP Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson after his much talked about speech to the OC Lincoln Club. Here's a sampling of what you'll be seeing in Total Buzz:

Q. In 2000, you were national campaign chairman for John McCain, and have been said to share many of his conservative views. How would distinguish yourself from McCain in terms of policy?

A. I wouldn’t right now. There’s plenty of time for that. We agree on a lot of things. A Republican, especially a conservative Republican – you’re going to have a large group of people you line up with on most votes. John and I certainly fit that category. But we have different views on some issues. We’ll have a good discussion about it. But John is my friend and will remain my friend, regardless of what we do.

Q. Do you feel that the American people want a choice for president that’s not out there right now?

A. Well, I’m not going to presume to judge what the American people need. They’ve got to decide what they need for themselves. As I say, my job is to see whether or not who I am and what I believe fills that bill.

Q. I was interested in your comment tonight that the 12 million illegal immigrants here now are not as big a threat as the next 12 million that will come.

A. I said that although they are a concern, they are not as great a concern as the next 12 and the next 12 and the next 12 after that.

Q. Do you support the immigration proposal being considered by Congress that would allow those now in the country illegally to gain legal residency?

A. We’ll get into that in due course. Right now, I think it’s a matter of priorities. I think the security issue and the border issue has to be dealt with first. Or the American people have to be convinced that it’s being dealt with, that we’re in the process of really addressing that and coming up with a solution before we can get to some of these other things. To me, the main issue has to do with priorities. We may or may not be able to address everything at once.

Go ahead and see more at Total Buzz. Wisckol asks Thompson some good questions on why he's running, and why we should take him seriously. Interesting stuff.