Fred Thompson had to pull the plug on his daughter after she overdosed on prescription drugs, and he takes a VERY dim view of how the Republicans acted on the Terri Sciavo matter (here and here):

“I had to make those decisions with the rest of my family,” said Thompson. “And I will assure you one thing: No matter which decision you make, you will never know whether or not you made exactly the right decision.”

Talking to a reporter in Florida, Thompson was harshly critical of the political decisions made in the case, saying that there should not be a role for any level of government beyond the judiciary’s authority to adjudicate disputes.

I have on a number of occasions made light of his campaign, my recurring “clown show” heds come to mind, but what we have here is a candidate with experience on a matter saying what he thinks.

It is interesting that it appears that he had been dodging this question for some time, though I get the sense that this is because it is painful, and not out of political expediency.