I’ve never understood why Charlie Rose is considered such a good interviewer. I watched him for years and finally just got tired of his searching for words and chumming up to all the lefties and being cool to all the conservatives he’d have on. Many times, celebrated Duke alum though he is, he just doesn’t seem to have a clue. That was especially true with the interviews he did during the breakup of the Soviet Union. He just couldn’t understand it.

A similar thing happened last night when he couldn’t grasp Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson’s discussion of “first principles.” After Thompson gave an eloquent Cliff Notes version of the principles that are the foundation of conservatism, Rose responded:

In all of that, you didn`t mention abortion, gay rights — all things that have been part of recent presidential elections.

Like a headmaster patiently explaining something to the class dim bulb, Thompson said:

Those — well, you`re talking about different things there. Those are issues that are before us, which derive from principles. … You know, the Declaration of Independence said that our basic rights come from God and not from man. The founders talked about, you know, life and liberty and the importance of that. And everything is based on those basic principles. And I take those principles, and you know, for example, I come to a pro-life conclusion there.

See the entire interview here.

UPDATE: Finally, a candidate answers the torture question the way most people want to hear it. (For those who might gasp, I give you my two examples: You didn’t hear outrage when Harrison Ford shot the British guy in the kneecap in his basement in “Patriot Games,” and you didn’t hear wailing and gnashing of teeth when Nick Cage shot the weasely chauffeur in the toe to find out where he buried Shirley MacLaine in “Guarding Tess.” I rest my case.)

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