#10. Thompson's Schiavo Slip

Sept. 13, 2007

"I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best...That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it."
— Fred Thompson, when asked if he thought Congress' intervention to save the life of Terri Schiavo, the brain-dead Florida woman, two years ago was appropriate.

This non-response fueled ongoing criticism that Thompson was not adequately prepared for a presidential run. Ironically, the former Tennessee Senator prosecuted a fictional version of the Schiavo case while playing District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's television drama Law & Order.