Posted on 02/16/2007 1:58:44 PM PST by Spiff
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, has become the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination despite a personal life that his own staff once conceded opened him up to accusations of "weirdness".
A USA Today/Gallup poll gave Mr Giuliani a 16-point lead over his rival Senator John McCain and showed him trailing Hillary Clinton, the leading Democrat, by just a single percentage point.
But the extent of his task to persuade Americans he can lead them was underlined this week when a remarkable 450-page "vulnerability study", compiled by aides in 1993, emerged. His current advisers fear that his colourful past and his liberal social positions could scupper his candidacy.
The study listed all the former prosecutor's perceived weaknesses as part of a "tough and hard-hitting" assessment.
Mr Giuliani, who subsequently became a national hero as mayor of New York after the September 11 attacks, ordered all copies of the document to be destroyed. But it was obtained by a reporter working on a book about him and posted on the Smoking Gun website.
According to the document, chief among his problems as he sought re-election as mayor was that his "personal life raises questions about a "weirdness factor". This stemmed from a 14-year first marriage to his second cousin that was annulled by the Roman Catholic Church.
"When asked about his personal life, Giuliani gives a wide array of conflicting answers. All of this brings the soundness of his judgement into question - and the veracity of his answers."
Mr Giuliani, who has twice married subsequently, was also vulnerable to claims he avoided service in Vietnam by receiving "special treatment from a friendly federal judge" and later "hypocritically prosecuted draft dodgers".
In an interview with CNN's Larry King Live on Wednesday, Mr Giuliani conceded that there was lots of material with which the press and opponents could attack him. "The way I deal with that is, hey, I'm a human being," he said.
"You know, I made mistakes. I'm not perfect. I keep trying to learn from them. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I keep working on that. I keep trying to learn from them. I'm a human being, much like, I think, everybody else." Mr Giuliani confirmed that he was in favour of abortion rights and against gun control - litmus-test issues for many conservatives - but emphasised that he personally hated abortion.
He would also "select judges who try to interpret the Constitution rather than invent it" - a notable reassurance to conservatives who fear presidents who use judicial appointments to engage in what many see as liberal social engineering via the courts. Whereas Democrats often reject a front runner during the party primaries, Republicans tend to coalesce around a leading candidate who they feel is electable by the broader populace. Mr Giuliani, 62, is vying to be that candidate in place of Mr McCain, 70, the early choice of the Republican establishment.
The document was the second to hand Mr Giuliani's White House rivals an arsenal of ammunition against him. Last month, a 140-page campaign battle plan setting out budgets, fundraising plans and details of possibly "insurmountable" problems with his candidacy was leaked to a New York tabloid.
Colourful past threatens Giuliani's lead
The Daily Telegraph
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 2:04am GMT 16/02/2007
Duly noted.
You are wrong about that. Duncan Hunter's got my prayers - plural!
"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."Are you weary in well doing?
~The Word of God, Matthew 21:22
I'll be praying right along with you.
HOORAY bump! I am praying for you, too, Jim Robinson, and for more men like you - godly leaders! Your faith will not fail! Your hope will not be disappointed! Your love of country is the fruit of your love of God - everything in proper order, just as with our Founders!
Love to you, brother.
..and unto you. :-)
Where are our Swift Boat Veterans now when we need them again?????
If Kerry was unquestionably unfit for lying about his Vietnam service, marrying for money and being an overll whore for power, Rudy is far worse!
That is perhaps a slogan for the general election.
In the primary election the whole point is to find one of your own who has a chance to win.
It could be Duncan Hunter, but to be honest with you, I've not heard him announce that he's running. A trusted friend tells me he's an excellent communicator and debater.
George Bush did some things right. He developed a message, and he refused to be sidetracked from it no matter how the media tried to provoke him. Hunter, if he's getting in the race should do that. It accomplishes a couple things:
1. It is a way for an unknown to get his message out easily to others so that they identify him with his major points, x,y, and z.
2. It helps prevent foot in mouth disease.
Here's my take on the Rino's. They are busy with the media and the libs digging up dirt on any conservative who shows his face. It was the case with George Allen and the Washingington Post, and I sense it in my bones that liberal pubbies were part of his undoing....no one came to his defense. (That would be Elizabeth Dole, who was a disaster as the head of the Repub Sen Campaign Committee.)
That said, do not forget Liberal Democrats are the GREATER enemy.
It never helped Corporal Klinger get out of the army...
There's a story published somewhere (seen it twice in the last couple of days) that his wife troopered up and had a fundraising dinner two weeks after they lost their home in a fire. I'd call that pretty moxy. I agree we haven't seen much of her, but that's a pretty good sign to me. Time will tell - I'll take not much of a picture over the ugly pictures of McCain and Giuliani and the funhouse mirror, constantly changing picture of Romney at this point.
"The time in which we live is very great; but the people are very small, and as yet I see no one with whom I would care to go aboard ship." MIRABEAU
The deferment system was inequitable and flawed, but it was the law.
But, as you suggest, where do you stop in calling people "draft dodgers"? Joining the Guard? I have friends who joined the Air Force, knowing their chances of going to Vietnam in an non-flight position were almost nil. The Navy was nearly like that. Or joining up active Army, but seeking training in an MOS that you knew would keep you in a rear area? Draft dodging?
I just think it's a really bad idea to reopen Vietnam-era wounds. The Dems love to do it, but they play the politics of divide and conquer. I thought conservatives were better than that.
That is a very good post.
Thanks! I wouldn’t let that pervert anywhere near my children, ever.
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