Fred Thompson was no stranger to smoking in both his political and acting careers. He smoked a pipe during the 1973 Senate Watergate Hearings when he served as Minority Counsel. He smoked cigarettes and cigars in his many acting roles.

Now he smoked liberal filmmaker Michael Moore.

Moore’s film “Sicko” which purports to showcase the quality of Cuban healthcare compared to the U.S. system, has gotten Moore in trouble with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which enforces the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba. Moore apparently did not have a permit to go to Cuba, although he had applied. Stiff penalties can be applied upon conviction, including imprisonment and fines.

Moore, trying to promote his film, challenged Thompson to a debate on health care and also needled Thompson that his interest in Cuban cigars could also be a violation of the trade embargo.

Thompson’s response shows his grasp of today’s media environment. He released a witty, short video that, according to the National Ledger Web site:

“Thompson responded - with an unlit cigar between his teeth. ‘I've been looking at my schedule, Michael, and I don't think I have time for you,’ the GOP candidate said. ‘But I may be the least of your problems. You know, the next time you're down in Cuba visiting your buddy Castro, you might ask them about another documentary filmmaker. His name was Nicolas Guillen [Landrian]. He did something Castro didn't like, and they put him in a mental institution for several years, giving him devastating electroshock treatments. A mental institution, Michael, might be something you ought to think about.’

“The New York Daily News has Moore's clumsy response: ‘Why would a potential presidential candidate provide photographic evidence of himself committing a felony?’ the director told us last night before he showed his film to the 9/11 workers he'd brought to Cuba.

The National Ledger site added the obvious follow-up:

“Someone should tell Michael Moore that all cigars are not from Cuba. The premium hand rolled cigar Thompson displays could be Dominican, Honduran or from a number of countries. Now it's easy to see how Moore gets so many things wrong in his mockumentaries. Moore stepped way above his pay grade and got slapped around pretty good on this one.”

Whatever one thinks of Moore, Thompson showed not just wit, but stunning political self-confidence to make a video showing him with a cigar, albeit unlit and – coyly – unbanded. That kind of leadership could help his candidature considerably.