Posted on 02/16/2010 12:01:36 PM PST by iowamark
Former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson has written a memoir about his small-town childhood that will be released this May.
“Teaching the Pig to Dance” recounts the movie star-turned-politician’s 50s-era upbringing in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
The title alludes to what Thompson concedes were some of his own flaws and specifically how difficult he made it for those who were trying to help raise him.
"There is an old saying that teaching the pig to dance is a fruitless endeavor,” Thompson said in an e-mail. “It is a waste of your time and it irritates the pig. That was probably how my parents, teachers, coaches and townsfolk felt about me."
And, he added, “That, of course, makes me the pig.”
“It’s about the characters he ran into, the lessons he learned from his father and family, and those folks who influenced him,” said a longtime Thompson associate who has seen the manuscript and described it as filled with humorous vignettes – something of a Southern-fried “Lake Wobegon.”
It’s not a political manifesto, said the associate, but it will detail the Tennessean’s discovery of Barry Goldwater and conservatism.
The book marks the continuation of what has been Thompson’s re-emergence on the public stage following his much-hyped bust of a presidential campaign.
Along with his wife, Jeri, Thompson now hosts a daily radio show, where he’s gotten guests ranging from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and once-and-perhaps-future Indiana Sen. Dan Coats to make news. In less than a year since it launched, the show has been picked up by over 150 stations.
Thompson has also returned to the silver screen, working on three movies over the last year, including a Disney portrayal of the story of “Secretariat,” the famous race horse.
He may not be a candidate again, but Thompson, 67, has made clear that he intends to stay involved in politics.
He campaigned aggressively for Doug Hoffman in the upstate New York special congressional election last fall and many of his close advisers worked behind the scenes for the Conservative Party candidate who ultimately lost the closely-watched contest.
And Thompson advisers say he’ll devote significant time to the campaign trail this year, aiding Republican candidates, particularly those who backed his White House bid.
So far, the former senator has committed to stump for Rep. Gresham Barrett, who’s seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina, Rep. Adam Putnam, who’s running for commissioner of agriculture in Florida, California state Sen. Sam Aanestad, who’s vying for the lieutenant governor nomination there, Luther Strange, whose taking on the incumbent attorney general in an Alabama primary, and Tim Griffin and Frank Guinta, congressional candidates in Arkansas and New Hampshire, respectively.
As for the book, Thompson advisers say he wrote it himself, in between the radio show and filming movies. It was originally to be called “Notes from a Country Lawyer,” but Thompson didn’t think that reflected much of the tale.
This is Thompson’s second book. His first was a self-described insider account of his tenure as a young lawyer on the Senate Watergate Committee.
What is the title of the book...”On to Defeat...How I was a staking Horse for John McCain..Presidential Election 2008”
Tennessee Ham(let).
OK, troll.
Fred Thompson was the only conservative of the five serious GOP candidates in 2008. How exactly did that help McCain? Please explain without a link to Huffington Post.
...or June, or maybe July. When I get around to it...
Sorry but the truth hurts...
He was never a serious candidate.
He got $500 of my hard-earned dollars for nothing.
So the troll has no response to my question?
My response is the truth.... nothing more needs to be said. I know it is tough for some who are quite naive in the ways of politics to accept these things, so I am going to let you get off easy this time....and no I not going to do your research for you...I know the facts...time for you to get educated....
Sorry, troll, but your condescension doesn’t impress me or anyone else.
You, and everyone else reading this, knows that you are a troll for a more liberal candidate and philosophy.
Fred had stepped aside before the 2008 Missouri primary. He was my candidate. I held my nose, literally and touched the screen for Mittens. I would be a lot more inclined to read Fred’s memoir had he stayed in the race.
Besides McLame introducing Sarah Palin to the lower 48 and the world, it was the most pathetic field of GOP candidates I personally had ever seen, Mittens included. Sarah was indeed the point of light, and still is.
Me too $500 blown
Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't that read politician-turned-movie star-turned politician-turned TV star-turned presidential candidate?
I remember Thompson being in Washington during the Watergate hearings....
You didn’t answer iowamark’s question.
- JP
1967 Lawyer
1972 Campaign manager for Senator Howard Baker
1973-4 Republican counsel, Senate Watergate Committee
1985 Played himself in movie “Marie,” led to many other movie roles
1994 Elected to US Senate to fill remainder of Al Gore’s term
1996 Re-elected to US Senate
2003 Left Senate, began “Arthur Branch” role on Law and Order
2006-7 Guest host for Paul Harvey
2007-8 Presidential campaign
2009-present The Fred Thompson Radio Show, has 3 movies coming out in 2010.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000669/maindetails
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