Did this mean that contrary to the lion share of social conservative activists he thinks Congress should NOT have intervened? Or was he just uninformed on one of the most publicized and emotional issues of the last few years for social conservatives in the state he was visiting? (He also got stumped on catastrophic insurance which is a bread and butter stuff in Florida but that seems small compared to Terri Schiavo.) You can say he wasn’t prepared or knowledgeable or you can say his staff didn’t prepare him properly but the result is another woops. (OBL was the last big one.)

The NY Sun reports that the overworked Thompson clean up crew then moved in and had this to say about Thompson’s views: “While he believes in the sanctity of life, he also believes that it was a decision for the family to make under state law, so there was no role for the federal government to play.” So he DOES differ with many social conservatives(and talk show hosts and bloggers). It’s an entirely defensible position — although is going to be pounced upon by the Romney folks and make more trouble for him as he woos the Arlington group, I have no doubt — but at some point the candidate has to be able to sound like he knows the issues and can explain his views for himself. (This may explain why he’s not thrilled with the idea of debates since generally spokesmen can’t come on the stage with the candidates.)