THE CELLULOID SENATOR

Usually we know politicians by their character. In the case of Fred Thompson, chairman of the Senate committee investigating campaign-finance abuses, we may get insight from his characters. Between 1979 and 1994, Thompson acted in 18 feature films. Some of the lines he had in those movies seem germane to his current work: chairing hearings.

Why have the hearings started slowly?

The operation of government is complex. [1]

John Huang wants limited immunity to testify. What does that mean?

All charges against your boys have been dropped. Dropped, gone, never happened. [2]

That would be a problem if it turned out...