Rudy Smears Finding A Small (-Minded) Audience
Here’s a typical Rudy hatchet piece by the same sort of fool who would applaud Ann Coulter slurring John Edwards, and originating from the same frankly embarrassing event, CPAC (note to big name conservatives – why not skip this stupid event next year? Starve it for lack of oxygen).
Rudy Giuliani’s liberal stance on abortion, guns and gays wasn’t his biggest problem yesterday as he addressed a conference of conservative activists – it was his having dressed in drag.
A whisper campaign targeting the front-running GOP White House contender’s cross-dressing stunts at gala political dinners in New York and on “Saturday Night Live” was the hot topic among right-leaning activists.
“A lot of people are talking about it. It’s not respectable. They use it as a way to highlight all of his other shortcomings,” Las Vegas conservative Bruce Feher told The Post.
Giuliani, who addressed the key gathering yesterday, may top national GOP presidential polls, but conservatives already uneasy with Giuliani’s positions on social issues were latching on to his gags as a drag queen.
“Can you think of any president – even Clinton – or another candidate wearing a dress on several occasions? It’s unpresidential. It’s not a secret, but a lot of people don’t know about it, and it’s only going to get more attention,” said Florida GOPer Gregg Shore.
“It lends credence to the belief that he’s not conservative.”
I suppose that’s true, if you’re so uneasy about your own masculinity and sexual preferences that you are threatened by a man wearing a dress for humurous effect (ever hear of Monty Python?). For those of us who have a brain larger than a pea, however, we can note with satisfaction the 25%(!) point lead Giuliani has opened over McCain head-to-head in the latest Newsweek poll:
Maybe it is Giuliani time, after all. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has pulled far ahead of Arizona Sen. John McCain in a hypothetical head-to-head GOP presidential primary matchup, according to the latest NEWSWEEK Poll—beating McCain 59 percent to 34 percent. Giuliani’s lead over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is even more formidable (70 percent to 20 percent).
But perhaps the best news for the man once dubbed “America’s Mayor” for his role in seeing New York through the 9/11 attacks is the lead he’s opened up on his potential Democratic rivals for the White House. According to the survey, Giuliani outpolls Illinois Sen. Barack Obama by 5 points (48 percent to 43 percent), former senator John Edwards by 2 points (47 percent to 45 percent) and Sen. Hillary Clinton by 1 point (47 percent to 46 percent). Last month Clinton led Giuliani by 3 points (49 percent to 46 percent), as did Obama (47 percent to 44 percent). Thirteen percent of registered Democrats say they would cross party lines to support Giuliani, while only 4 percent of Republicans say they would do the same for Clinton. Perhaps more important, among independent voters, Giuliani leads Clinton 49 percent to 42 percent.
Yes, yes, bring on the smears, boys – did you know Giuliani dressed in (gasp!) drag? Did you know he briefly lived in the same house as (gasp!!) gays(!!)? Did you know he has been through a few marriages(!!!)?
And did you know he’s smoking the competition, and is probably the only Republican who can win the White House in 2008?…
What silliness.
It occurs to me that by beginning the campaign so early, with so many candidates, it may negate the old October Surprise tactic.
There is an article in today’s New York Times which reports that he has been estranged from his son for a lengthy period of time since he divorced Donna Hanover. Apparently they are now on speaking terms, but barely. Andrew, who appeared often with Rudy when he was mayor, refuses to campaign for him now. It will be interesting to see if this becomes an issue.
I’ll say the same thing I said in 1992: this is about voting for a President, not a husband.
Yabbut if you stink as a father and a husband, it does speak to your priorities in life, and at a minimum suggests character deficiencies such as disloyalty, untrustworthiness, inability to follow through on serious commitments, selfishness (gasp!) I could go on but I hear snoring.