Presumed presidential candidate Fred Thompson spoke in Orange County, CA on Friday:

[He said] "border security" must be the first priority in reforming immigration.

But he also made clear that he would tack closer to the middle on the issue by adding that "the 12 million [illegal immigrants] here aren't as much as a concern as the next 12 million after that."

The first line – border security – won immediate head nods, murmurs of "m-hmm," and applause. His downplaying of the status of the illegal immigrants in the country now drew silence.

I'll break the silence: his "middle" stance might turn out to be as radical as that of Bush and most of the current GOP candidates. He didn't oppose an amnesty for illegal aliens, and if he doesn't think having 12 to 20 million foreign citizens living here illegally is an issue there's a strong possibility that he's a supporter of some form of amnesty. Whatever it's called, it will be seen as an amnesty by millions of prospective illegal aliens around the world, and they'll come a-running.

I note also that harping on border security is the stock Bush partisan line employed by worthies such as Hugh Hewitt and Captain Ed. I note also that he's being pushed by RedState and Instapundit, both of which are very strong warning signs.

I'm certainly willing to give him a hearing, but as for now I'm a very strong skeptic.

UPDATE: Fred Thompson: Globalist? refers to unnamed "Nashville news editors" who are creating a "supernova" around his candidacy. And, it says that he was a NAFTA supporter, he voted for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, he voted to "relax the rules on migrant farm workers", and "most of his time is spent in Manhattan and Hollywood". And:

Although it's true that Ol' Fred drove a red pickup truck to campaign appearances when he ran for Al Gore's vacated seat in the U.S. Senate, it's also true that Fred only drove that truck a few blocks at a time before it was put on the flatbed hauler until the next campaign speech.

When I heard about the red pickup truck on one of the political talk shows, my first thought was that they'd probably use a flatbed to move it around. It's good to see that confirmed.