If you had 90 minutes to sit down with your congressman, what would you talk about?

Certainly, in September of 2009, one topic would be health care reform, as that debate has dominated political discussion for months. When Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, came to Register World Headquarters a little more than a week ago, health care was Topic A. But there were others. Here are some outtakes from the Sept. 11 meeting.

On state Sen. Pat Wiggins, who decided not to seek re-election under intense pressure because it appeared her intellectual capacity had diminished, Thompson said the situation was “very sad.”

He acknowledged that Wiggins’ condition had been the subject of discussion among political leaders for some time. Asked if he believed she was diminished and why, if she is no longer capable of effectively serving the public, no one came forward to say so, he paused and said, “I don’t want to talk about somebody’s health issues.”

He said that Wiggins’ constituents should “be thankful for what she did in public service.”

The conversation touched all too briefly  on the war in Afghanistan. Just as the Iraq war presented mind-boggling tactical and diplomatic decisions for America and its allies, Afghanistan is another dangerous puzzle.

Thompson noted that one reason the stakes are so high is that Pakistan, which neighbors Afghanistan and which has supplied significant support to the Taliban, “is a nuclear country,” and one that has been intensely engaged with another problem, its contested border with India in the province of Kashmir.

Further, he said, waging a military campaign is difficult in Afghanistan for more reasons than the maze of caves in Tora Bora. The people, he said, “have nothing there. You can’t get less developed than they are. That makes it tough militarily.”

As for the Pentagon’s request for tens of thousands more troops in Afghanistan, Thompson said Congress will insist that the Obama administration present a comprehensive “exit strategy” for Afghanistan before it approves a major increase in troops or resources. “It can’t just be boots on the ground,” Thompson said.

Finally, Thompson is a native of St. Helena and the conversation turned to his youth in St. Helena. He mentioned that as a teen, one of his jobs was to push around pig slop on an Upvalley ranch.

St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan Publisher Doug Ernst, sitting in on the meeting as a member emeritus of the Register editorial board, made the observation that wallowing in pig swill was probably good training for going to Congress.

 “Or going to editorial board meetings,” Thompson replied.