Politics & Power Quote by Fred Thompson

There’s a special kind of Washington compliment that isn’t really about the people being praised so much as the system being defended. Fred Thompson’s line is that kind: a pat on the head delivered to the judiciary and the Senate that doubles as a reassurance to viewers that the whole civic machine is still humming.

The key move is in the bland insistence of “the way that they should.” Thompson isn’t evaluating answers; he’s policing posture. In the context of confirmation hearings, “should” is code for restraint: don’t tip your hand, don’t promise outcomes, don’t give senators anything that can be used as a headline. It’s not a celebration of transparency. It’s approval of disciplined opacity, framed as propriety.

Then comes the bipartisan alchemy: “for the most part, Democrat and Republican, respected that.” Thompson is smoothing the jagged edges of a political spectacle into something like a shared ritual. The subtext is almost parental: adults in the room, everyone behaving. That matters because hearings often read as partisan theater; declaring “respect” is a way to launder the event into legitimacy, to suggest that conflict exists but is contained by norms.

The repeated “I think” and “as best I could tell” are doing political work, too. They soften the claim, signaling moderation and reasonableness, while still landing the core message: nothing improper happened here. Thompson’s intent isn’t to inform; it’s to certify. In an era when institutions are perpetually on trial, he’s offering an establishment seal of approval, calm enough to sound like objectivity.