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Posted: December 6, 2007 4:58 PM
Thompson Staffer's Comments Threaten to Drown Out Fred TV
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Following his participation in last week’s CNN-YouTube debate, former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., made three national TV appearances this week. But comments made by a high-level campaign staffer could threaten to steal most of that spotlight.

On Tuesday, in an interview with the Palmetto Scoop, Cyndi Mosteller, co-chair of Thompson’s South Carolina campaign, made critical comments about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon religion — just a few days before Romney’s speech on his faith, which he delivered Thursday.

“I think the doctrines of Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism are so vastly different from the Mormon doctrine; from the concept of polygamy being the order of Heaven, to human man’s progression to godhead of other worlds, to the idea that Jesus had multiple wives, to the idea that, after the death of the last apostle, all of Christendom was in apostasy — with a capital ‘A’ as the Church refers to it — until Joseph Smith discovered the golden plates in the 1830s,” Mosteller said. “So I think it’s inconsistent with so many basic Christian doctrines and it’s very unusual to the point that it’s almost unbelievable. These concepts are things that are theologically beyond our orthodox imagination.”

There has been no formal response by Thompson’s campaign to criticism of Mosteller’s comments.

Before Mosteller’s comments, Thompson enjoyed some positive national press. On Friday he and his wife, Jeri, sat down with CNN’s Larry King for what King described as, “Fred and Jeri. It sounds like a sitcom.”

The show was a friendly atmosphere for the presidential candidate, with King remarking that Thompson “reminded me tonight that we first met 34 years ago, when he and late Sam Dash appeared on my radio show.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer had Thompson as a guest Monday on the “Situation Room.” Blitzer asked Thompson about Romney and religion, and quoted from an editorial that said Thompson had “gained little traction since he entered the race, in part because he lacks a religious niche.”

Thomson responded: “I’m okay with the Lord, and the Lord is okay with me, as far as I can tell.”

On Tuesday, Thompson was a guest on PBS’s Charlie Rose. The two talked about the usual campaign topics, and the interview sparked comments among conservative voices, including Thompson’s own campaign.