Fred! Gives a Speech in the UK

Fred Thompson was just in the UK and gave a speech for the Policy Exchange. You can read the text of his excellent speech here.

It focused mainly on the alliance between America and Britain (which, as an Anglophile, I am most interested in):

We are profoundly grateful for the friendship of the British people, and in America we’ll always remember Mr. Blair as a gallant friend, even when it did him no good politically.

When we in the States take the measure of your leaders, their party affiliation doesn’t really count for a whole lot. It’s been this way for a while now, at every moment when it mattered. It was true in the days of Churchill and Roosevelt … of Thatcher and Reagan … and Blair and Bush.

Differences of party and domestic policy are incidental, compared to the bigger considerations that define Britain and America as allies. On both sides of the Atlantic, what matters most are the commitments we share, and the work we are called to do in common. This work is based upon the principles we hold – primarily, the right of free people to govern themselves. We also believe that the rule of law, market economies, property rights, and trade with other nations are the underpinnings of a free society.

When historians of the modern era speak of the great democracies, of civilization and its defenders, that’s us they’re talking about – we and our democratic friends across Europe and beyond.

In the long progress of the world toward liberty, it was not by chance that this lowly province of the Roman Empire became a great teacher of democracy and the model of self-government. And it wasn’t just luck that turned a troublesome British colony into the inspiration for all those who seek freedom. There is a reason why Britain and America were thrown together as partners in this world. The things that unite the American and British peoples? They don’t change with the names of leaders or with the passing of years.

Good words, don't you think?

From there, Fred! talked about the threat the world faces, how many in Europe don't see the threat the same way we in America do or think it is only a threat to the US, and how even when this threat goes on the backburner, there will be others. But, he reminded the Policy Exchange, Britain and America will still stand together.

I think it is an excellent speech and, dare I say, rather presidential?

This part at the beginning was a sly bit of humor:

Of course we believe in long presidential campaigns in the U.S. Most American politicians are afraid they won’t be considered serious candidates until they’ve made a promise a hundred times and spent a hundred million dollars. Though every now and then you still get some slow-poke who takes his time before announcing.

I recommend reading the entire speech.

And, of course, there is excellent coverage (including video) over at BritainAndAmerica.com.

Fred's Website: I'mWithFred

My previous post: Fred! to see The Iron Lady