USA Today ran a story this week on the “top 25 headlines that shaped history.” The 23rd-ranked story was the fight for the life of Terri Schiavo.

Flabbergastingly, when GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson was asked about the case today, he said he had no opinion and couldn’t remember the details:

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave no opinion Thursday when asked about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive, saying he does not remember details of the right-to-die case that stirred national debate.

Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9’s “Political Connections” program whether he thought Congress’ intervention to save the life of the brain-dead woman two years ago was appropriate.

“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”

Congress passed a bill after Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed in March 2005 to allow a federal court to review the case, and Bush returned from his Texas ranch to sign the bill into law. But a federal judge refused to order the tube reinserted, a decision upheld by a federal appeals court and the Supreme Court.

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator who left office in 2003, did say, “Local matters generally speaking should be left to the locals. I think Congress has got an awful lot to keep up with.”

This was a case on fundamental matters of ethics, end of life issues, and the definition of personhood and humanity...and Fred punts the question?

Attention, Thompson campaign: Reacquaint yourself with Terri’s Fight here.

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