Fred, Fried Chicken and a Lie Pie for dessert

Fred Thompson hasn't been to Iowa much during this presidential campaign. Let's face it, he hasn't been a candidate for all that long. So tonight, when he's supposed to work the room before about 850 Iowans of faith, it piqued our interest. Thompson is a guy who's been married...twice. He's admitted he doesn't usually go to church. And he's refused to back that federal amendment to ban gay marriage. So obviously, when he decided to go to the annual banquet of the Iowa Christian Alliance, we were curious.

Thompson arrived at 5pm. The cameras followed him around the room while he introduced his wife and their daughter. (one humorous moment...when one older man, perhaps, about Thompson's age--he's 65--met Thompson's wife, Jeri--she turns 41 on Sunday--he listened as Jeri said, "I'm his wife, Jeri." That's when the older man said, "really?" I digress...

Anyway, the Thompsons sat down at a table while they listened to a man sing "God Bless the USA" (the singer seemed to be about a second behind the music, but, again, I digress."

A Thompson staffer pulled me aside to say Thompson would take questions outside the building later, so he wouldn't disturb the dinner guests inside. So we waited...about an hour, while Thompson stood in the receiving line and shook people's hands as they waited to get their plates of fried chicken, really thick mashed potatoes and green beans. Then it looked like it was our chance. Thompson made his way to the door...the bathroom door. Oops. We all followed, well all the way to the bathroom.

Then, we followed him after he left the bathroom. Perhaps, this was our chance. Nope, he made his way back to his table. Then, he turned around and went outside. Now, it was our chance to get all those faith questions answered. Thompson walked outside...and then walked into the SUV waiting for him. Then, he left. Another staffer said there would be plenty of time for questions during the rest of the trip. Will there or is that another slice of lie pie?