June 4, 2007

Scarborough Attacks Fred's Wife

Joe Scarborough offers his keen insight and classy analysis into today's political scene in an interview this morning with Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford. During the Morning Joe program on MS-NBC, Scarborough suggested that Fred Thompson's wife is a whore (via the Palmetto Scoop):




SCARBOROUGH: Have you seen Fred Thompson’s wife?

CRAWFORD: Oh, yeah.

SCARBOROUGH: You think she thinks she works the pole?

CRAWFORD: That’s what a Hollywood career will do for you, I guess.

SCARBOROUGH: What do you mean?

CRAWFORD: You get wives like that.

SCARBOROUGH: I mean, look at that guy. God bless him, I love his voice. But I mean, you know. He ain’t Robert Redford in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

CRAWFORD: Well I would like to see him back into politics because I think he’s a lousy actor.

Anyone who has watched Scarborough for any length of time knows that Scarborough can be an ass. What we didn't know was that he could also be tacky enough to attack someone's wife in the most personal of terms. Thompson's wife is beautiful, but that doesn't make her a whore or a stripper. Perhaps it speaks to Scarborough's view of women that he immediately associates one with the other.

The counterbuzz around Thompson has started to center on his supposed "trophy wife", as if he somehow should be blamed for dating beautiful women after his divorce. Thompson remained single for several years before marrying his current wife; he had also dated country singer Lorrie Morgan for a while as well. It's hardly a scandal, it hardly makes Jeri Thompson a homewrecker or a whore, and it hardly qualifies as unusual.

This is nothing more than character assassination, and especially egregious as it targets someone who isn't even a political player. Scarborough should be ashamed of himself.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin: "I suppose it's an improvement that they didn't say anything about Mrs. Thompson's hair." She wonders whether Joe would let anyone say that about his wife without demanding an apology.

Actually, I'm kind of hoping that Fred has another video out this afternoon about this. Can you imagine how he'd take Scarborough apart, given what he did to Michael Moore?

UPDATE II: Fred got divorced in 1985. He got remarried in 2002, seventeen years later. Jeri Kehn turned 40 in January, meaning they got married when she was 35 years old and he was 60 -- hardly robbing the cradle. Why this is anyone's business but Fred and Jeri's is beyond me.

UPDATE III: CQ comenter Rich says the segment started off with the traffic and weather reporter, Tracy, talking about how she "works the pole" for exercise to stay in shape. That topic continued for some time, and then Craig Crawford came on, which is when Scarborough made this comment.

That only mitigates it a little, in that Scarborough may not have meant to insinuate that Jeri Thompson was a stripper, or worse. I'm still mystified why Scarborough thinks that Jeri's appearance requires some lecherous reference.

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» Fred Thompson and Jeri Kehn: Trophy wife, trophy husband? from BeldarBlog
At 40, Fred Thompson's attractive, blonde wife of five years, Jeri Kehn, is considerably younger than he is. And while Fred is the TV and movie star of the pair, he looks his 64 years, while in the photos I've seen of her, she often looks younger than ... [Read More]

» On the Scarborough/Thompson Comments from Save The GOP
Ed Morrisey has a pretty good summary of the whole thing on his blog. Here is the basic transcript of what was said: SCARBOROUGH: Have you seen Fred Thompson’s wife? CRAWFORD: Oh, yeah. SCARBOROUGH: You think she thinks she works the pole? CRAWFORD... [Read More]

Comments (44)

Posted by RBMN | June 4, 2007 10:51 AM

When I first saw "Fred and Jeri" in a photo, my first thought was, Fred's daughter is kinda hot.....oh, it's the wife.....oh, okay.

Posted by Lisa | June 4, 2007 10:54 AM

Fred's wife is four years YOUNGER than his own daughter. That is what I find a bit disturbing. I find no problem with Jeri being beautiful or 25 years younger than him. But the fact that he has a daughter and chooses to marry someone younger than her is quite creepy to me.

Posted by Dave | June 4, 2007 10:56 AM

Working the pole?

I saw this last Friday morning on MSNBC....

What is the damn difference between what Slow Joe said and what Imus said?

NONE...

This is the same show that in the next segmat just after 7:00 AM Joe Klien said that after the Republican debate in CA - Romney gave him the creeps - real objective...

2 Slow Joes

Posted by DW | June 4, 2007 11:01 AM

Maybe this is why Scarborough is stuck on the lamentable MSNBC lineup.

Posted by nhuixnhuix | June 4, 2007 11:16 AM

Yeah, i think the problem is not so much that she is beautiful but that she is so much younger than him. Gorgeous, sure. A great woman, I am sure. But that reminds a little bit too many people - including my usually open-minded self - of the pathetic midlife crisis guys who have to pick that kind of women to make themselves feel better.
That said, I personally think it reflects worse on him than on her.

Posted by exdem13 | June 4, 2007 11:20 AM

In earlier days,Scarborough would've been one of those fellows with the knowing glance, dropping rumors about Presidential contenders. Y'know, about the "close resemblance" of Thomas Jefferson's butler to him, or how Andrew Jackson was a technical bigamist for two years with his "pipe smoking hick" of a wife, or how Mary Todd Lincoln was the new "Catherine of Verona". Feh. I bet he is just jealous 'cause Fred! can score a hot wife in the "golden years", even after a divorce.

Posted by Joselito | June 4, 2007 11:22 AM

So. Some media folks are hypocritical, and perhaps, jealous. Well, water is wet, deserts are dry, and the sky is often blue.

Posted by nitpicker | June 4, 2007 11:24 AM

You're right, Ed, marrying someone younger than your own daughter isn't creepy at all!

OK, it's kind of creepy and when she does appear to be 33% plastic, it only gets creepier.

Your point is well taken, though. Of course, this is just the sort of character assassination we've grown accustomed to from self-described conservatives, who come out of the corner aiming below the belt.

Posted by dave rywall | June 4, 2007 11:34 AM

Working the pole = being a stripper.

He's still a classless ass for saying it.

Posted by bulbasaur | June 4, 2007 11:40 AM

It's the party of Larry Flynt, Bill Clinton, and the Kennedy Family.

Anyone really surprised that this is the kind of person who find a home there?

Posted by GeorgeH | June 4, 2007 11:43 AM

Andy Jackson was another Tennessee politician whose wife was maligned falsely. Several who did so found their careers ended along with their lives.

Joe should consider himself lucky if Thompson skewers him only on YouTube.

Craig Crawford is supposed to be a reporter. If he wants to be a comentator/columnist he needs to find a new job.

Posted by Monkei | June 4, 2007 11:46 AM

It's the party of Larry Flynt, Bill Clinton, and the Kennedy Family.

Anyone really surprised that this is the kind of person who find a home there?

So, what does the party of Larry Flynt, Bill Clinton, and the Kennedy's have to do with the comments of one Smokey Joe Scarborough, the ex REPUG from Florida? I guess there is some way for you to wrap this all around and somehow blame his comments on the democrats! Wasn't this the same congressman whose secretary was found murdered in his office?

I love the look of younger women, but I went the other route, I married an older woman with a really nice pension. My friends there is NOTHING as pretty as an older woman with a nice pension.

Captain ... why am I getting thrown to the "Red Orbit" pages when I am in and around your website?

Posted by bulbasaur | June 4, 2007 11:58 AM

Hey Monkei, nothing personal. I was a democrat for a long time.

Then, when I realized the type of person the party was attracting, I realized it was time to grow up.

Posted by hermie | June 4, 2007 12:02 PM

When you can't get to the candidate, attack the wife.

To the best of my knowledge, Jeri Thompson has not made any campaign speeches, nor dictated any policy positions to support her husband, or her own political agenda. She hasn't made herself a target, unlike a few other candidates' wives have done in the past.

Scarborough has been exposed to MSNBC's far-left culture for too long. He's been infected with the pettiness and rudeness disease. Time for him to go into quarantine, so as not to endanged others.

Posted by Okonkolo | June 4, 2007 12:20 PM

Yep, that was a low blow, but I'm afraid the bar is so low these days it won't make a blip.

Yep, the "younger than daughter" aspect is creepy, as is the, um, modified look. And really, Captain, to leave the age part out of your post is a bit disingenuous.

I'm not sure the trophy wife angle will hurt Fred with some female voters; could be among older ones, but who knows.

And if folks went to town on Kerry's wife for her suitability to be First Lady, Jeri better get some armor. The whole First Lady thing seems quite silly to me, but it doesn't to some.

Posted by Bill Faith | June 4, 2007 12:21 PM

Somebody'll have to fill in some blanks for me but wasn't Jeri Thompson a Republican strategist and one point and didn't Fred meet her in DC, not Hollywood? I guess you know you got 'em worried when they start fightin' dirty. I added a link to my 2007.06.04 Fred! Roundup.

Posted by patrick neid | June 4, 2007 12:24 PM

correct me if i'm wrong on the numbers.

fred thompson is 64. he's 24 years older than his wife. that makes her 40--well there's a spring chicken robbed from the nest. they were married in 2002 when she was 35/36.

she's four years younger than one of his daughters! if anything it suggests that fred was a little young having a daughter when he was 19/20!

however he was clearly pro life!

Posted by Mike M. | June 4, 2007 12:24 PM

I still have this feeling that Thompson doesn't really want to be the President all that much, and that his run, if it ever really materializes, will be halfhearted at best. And a lot of that will be precisely because of garbage like this. What sane person in this day and age really wants to subject his family to this?

And in any event, I'd rather have a President with a young trophy wife than one who stays in a completely fake, political marriage with a sleazy husband who'll do any woman with two legs.

Posted by Stryyder | June 4, 2007 12:41 PM

Here is her background

Thompson married Jeri Kehn, twenty five years his junior, on June 29, 2002 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naperville, Illinois, having first met her on July 4, 1996.[16] Kehn (born January, 1967) is an attorney and a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, and McPherson law firm in Washington, D.C. She had formerly worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee.

I would bet you fifty bucks she could take Scarborough in a debate. The womens a political lawyer that probably is better educated than sleezoid Scarborough

Posted by Rich | June 4, 2007 12:54 PM

I heard the whole exchange (ironically on WFAN - Imus' home station). There was chat among Scarborough, Charles, and Tracey, who does traffic and weather. Tracey mentioned that she "works the pole,' meaning that she works out using a pole a la strippers. It includes headstands, situps, and, I guess, all the other stuff we saw in 'Beverly Hills Cop.' Their discussion about pole exercises went on for some time. Shortly after that, Craig Crawford was on, and the exchange listed above took place.

In context, it was considerably milder than presented here and elsewhere. I did not see it on MSNBC - I object to watching radio on TV.

Posted by Dave | June 4, 2007 1:22 PM

I heard the entire exchange too. Tracey made it clear what here version of the pole was. Legitimate exercise.

Slow Joe took it to the gutter over and over again. He then ,moved on to Thompson's wife.

In a work environment, it is called harassment.

BTW - prostitutes use the phrase "working the pole" and it is neither about stripping or legitimate exercise.

And, if you listen to Little Slow Joe, he meant both the strpper and the prostitute versions with both Tracey and with Crawford. He was also dancing around sex, not just swinging.

Average Joe? Slow Joe.

Posted by rbj | June 4, 2007 1:46 PM

William Durant was 27 when married Ariel. She was 14.
Now that is creepy -- even though they had a long marriage.

A 60 y.o. marrying a 35 y.o. isn't creepy to me.

Posted by Lydia | June 4, 2007 1:48 PM

Hey Joe, your wife is fugly and she dresses funny. Joe must be a really lousy lawyer if his mode of employment is on rinky dink rat infested PMSNBC. He gets his talking points from Oberman. Hey Joe, your a jerk.

Posted by KendraWilder | June 4, 2007 2:13 PM

It blows my mind that so many people are put off by the age difference between Fred and Jeri, calling her a "trophy" wife, without looking at the bigger picture.

People who marry young often change quite a bit as they mature. Quite often they grow apart in their goals in life, diverging so much that bridging the gap between them simply becomes impossible. And Fred and his first wife did not break up a young family, but waited until their children were grown and focusing on establishing their own lives. And they parted on good terms, and remain very good friends.

If Fred had been experiencing a mid-life crisis, and I've personally known men who did, he would have been jumping from marriage to trophy wife to marriage to younger trophy wife until finally settling down enough to have a long term stable relationship.

Not Fred. He took his time, dated many talented women, and waited patiently until he finally met that one special person who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and have another family. (I'm guessing he truly enjoys being a father.)

He waited 17 years between his divorce and getting married again. Not exactly the sign of a man who's grasping to relive his youth perpetually through playing the single's scene as an available and famous bachelor. And the woman he finally fell for is a very talented professional in her own right, past the youthful angst years. Even then they didn't marry for nearly 8 years after they met.

It doesn't matter if Jeri is younger than Fred's daughter. This is the 21st Century, and people are living longer than ever.

Fred obviously thinks things through before making serious decisions, and lets enough time and experience go by as necessary to make sure such a long term commitment as marriage might have a chance at success.

I'll state here that Fred would be my No. 2 choice for President if he ran against Duncan Hunter. More than his, ahem, Trophy Wife, I think Fred's biggest downside is his age in relation to his health condition. It's reasonable to expect that an elected President is most likely to serve two terms, and I just don't see Fred as having the healthy longevity for that. I could well be wrong, but for me that will definitely be a deciding factor.

Posted by Kent | June 4, 2007 2:23 PM

Is it still considered a trophy wife if you don't divorce the old one to marry the new one?

But all this is as I once predicted: Thompson seemed the Savior of the Party until he actually entered the race. Then folks were shocked, shocked to discover that he actually puts his pants on one leg at a time, like everyone else.

He's still one of the top two on my list of candidates.

Posted by tomfrombfflo | June 4, 2007 2:51 PM

No self-respecting man wants an ugly wife. Thompson deserves his new wife. He would look silly if he had some old crone campaigning with him. Most men will vote for him because they wish their wives were hot, and most women will vote for him because they admire power in males. He will lose the ugly crone vote, true, but who cares about them? I love Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham etc. BECAUSE they are great looking ladies, not DESPITE that fact. America loves winner and Thompson is a winner!

Posted by johnCV | June 4, 2007 3:01 PM

Craig crawford is a smarmy crap weasel who has all the class of a, well, a lefty politcal reporter. Comments like that are his standard level of commentary.

Scarborough has been in a long slide since he went to pmsnbc.

What really surprises me is that anyone actually was watching to have heard the comment.

Posted by onlineanalyst | June 4, 2007 3:02 PM

Not to worry, tomfrombufflo: Madame Hillary has the old crone vote locked up. (Snark!)

Posted by Al Maviva | June 4, 2007 3:02 PM

Dang. I had no idea she was a bigtime attorney at a white stocking firm.

This means there is only one appropriate response to the question, "what do you think about Fred Thompson marrying that blonde hottie with the big brains?"

[Stands]

[Clap]

[Clap]

[Clap]

Posted by Al Maviva | June 4, 2007 3:04 PM

Dang. I had no idea she was a bigtime attorney at a white stocking firm.

This means there is only one appropriate response to the question, "what do you think about Fred Thompson marrying that blonde hottie with the big brains?"

[Stands]

[Clap]

[Clap]

[Clap]

Posted by Al Maviva | June 4, 2007 3:06 PM

Dang. I had no idea she was a bigtime attorney at a white stocking firm.

This means there is only one appropriate response to the question, "what do you think about Fred Thompson marrying that blonde hottie with the big brains?"

[Stands]

[Clap]

[Clap]

[Clap]

Posted by Sully18 | June 4, 2007 3:13 PM

"It's the party of Larry Flynt, Bill Clinton, and the Kennedy Family."

Anyone really surprised that this is the kind of person who find a home there?
Hold on there,partner! Joe Scarborough is still a Repug.
"Hey Monkei, nothing personal. I was a democrat for a long time.
Then, when I realized the type of person the party was attracting, I realized it was time to grow up."

Hey,bulbasaur,when were you starting your plan to grow up?Are you going to ask for help with that from Jack Abramoff,Duke Cunningham,or Mark Foley?

Posted by Sully18 | June 4, 2007 3:36 PM

Another case of Shakespeare."Much Ado About Nothing."

Posted by Carol Herman | June 4, 2007 3:39 PM

It's the way nature intended.

And, why not? Women used to die in childbirth. If not with the first, than with the sixth. Where longevity wasn't in the cards.

While men, if they were successful, got to pick and choose their next bride. And, why would a man want one "his own age?" Heck, the Thompson's have a one year old kid. SHow it shows ya! Fred knows what he's doing. And, he can afford it, too.

That there's fellas on talk-radio who are real stupid shits? You're just figuring that out? It's pretty late in the day.

But these Scarborough pieces of crap won't even get noticed, unless they themselves "use the pole."

It's also not gonna have the same effect; these types of words. That they once held when marriages "lasted forever." And, men spent a lot of time at their clubs.

Well, it's not dubbed "hate radio" fer nuthin.

Posted by davod | June 4, 2007 4:11 PM

I don't care what party Scarborough belongs to. He embarrased himself and his station.

Thompson needs to catch this jerk in the street and beat the living s...t out of him.I

Posted by davod | June 4, 2007 4:18 PM

I hvae a better idea. Thompson should call out the guy on the street while being videotaped. People who acte like Scarborough are more than likely cowards. I would like to see the video of him running away from an old man.

Posted by aaaaaa | June 4, 2007 8:06 PM

Fred is a Fascist.

Posted by nitpicker | June 4, 2007 9:52 PM

Will all the lillte Captain's minion's feel equally bad about Glenn Beck's comments about Dennis Kucinich's wife?

Posted by moon | June 4, 2007 9:57 PM

Joe Scarborough

Divorced April 5, 1999.
Remarried September 5, 2001.

Posted by kiwikit | June 5, 2007 5:09 AM

Then I, too, am a 'trophy' wife since there are 15 years between my age and that of my second husband. I'd rather say that it's due to my maturity in selecting a second husband who's joined me in a wonderful life for more than fifteen years. Keep in mind what my college philosophy teacher told us: " When we marry young, we're looking for Prince Charming. . . unfortunately we usually end up with his horse!" It certainly was true for me. I've now found my prince and admire his wisdom and maturity as I couldn't have at 20!

Posted by kiwikit | June 5, 2007 5:11 AM

Then I, too, am a 'trophy' wife since there are 15 years between my age and that of my second husband. I'd rather say that it's due to my maturity in selecting a second husband who's joined me in a wonderful life for more than fifteen years. Keep in mind what my college philosophy teacher told us: " When we marry young, we're looking for Prince Charming. . . unfortunately we usually end up with his horse!" It certainly was true for me. I've now found my prince and admire his wisdom and maturity as I couldn't have at 20!

Posted by swabjockey05 | June 5, 2007 8:06 AM

NutPicker. Yes.

Posted by skydaddy | June 5, 2007 1:55 PM

FT: "Oh - A little side note to Joe Scarborogh. Joe, it'd be best not to invite me on your program anytime soon. After what you said about my wife, if I see you face to face, I'll slug you one.

That's not a threat, that's not a boast, that's just the way it's going to be."

Posted by Foghorn Leghorn | June 6, 2007 12:06 PM

Why hasn’t Fred Thompson criticized Joe Scarborough for insinuating his wife is a stripper? Just what kind of man is he anyway?

A Southern man’s dignity has been besmirched and his lady has been dishonored! Either defend your wife sir or suffer the righteous, I say, I say righteous wrath of an angry nation! Ol’ Fred, pistols at dawn is your only recourse! Teach that scaliwag a lesson with a bullet between the eyes! No Republican appointed judge would convict you! Cuz as we all know - while frowned upon - dueling was still sort of, kind of legal when the constitution was written.