"Rooty's deer-in-the-headlights look is very telling."
Posted on 05/16/2007 6:11:22 AM PDT by GMMAC
Giuliani's words have hollow ring
Presidential hopeful keeps flip-flopping
Steven Edwards, National Post
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2007
With flip-flopping a sure way to ensure rejection at the polls, what's a presidential candidate to do when his political record clashes with the bedrock beliefs of the party he seeks to represent?
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, is taking on the Republican rank-and-file when he asks them to nominate him despite his refusal to renounce his support for abortion.
He claims this shows he has the courage to state his views frankly, regardless of their popularity.
It's a strategy rooted in the premise that people are tired of nuanced answers from politicians and prefer a straight shooter -- even if they don't entirely agree with him.
In fact, Giuliani is showing less steel than if he had simply declared himself against abortion in line with essential Republican party thinking.
Like many abortion supporters, he reconciles the fact that it involves eliminating a life by saying that while he is opposed to abortion personally, he believes in a woman's right to it as a family planning option.
Of course, it all comes down to weighing the right to life of an unborn child against the right of a woman to make choices about her body.
For abortion supporters, the less developed the life in the womb, the easier it is to deny it rights that override the mother's.
Until ultrasound imaging shows a clear human form, it's easy to forget that something more than cellular fusion has taken place.
By saying he is "personally" against abortion, Giuliani clearly accepts the argument that life begins at conception. He must also believe the extension of that argument -- that the fetus at this stage has the same right to life as any human.
Giuliani is therefore being disingenuous when he recently asked Republicans to "respect" him for "telling? the truth."
If he were truly honest about where he stands, he would admit he seeks a free pass on the abortion issue so that he can pander to abortion supporters.
His message not only falls short of the truth-- which would reflect his convictions -- it contradicts the line promoted by both him and his supporters that his position on abortion is clear and free of variation.
He's on record as saying abortion is an "issue of conscience" and a decision to have one is a matter of "personal choice."
But he has also shown he's indifferent to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in the United States.
"It would be OK to repeal," he said during the first debate between Republican hopefuls.
"It would be OK if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent," he added, using a conservative-friendly adjective that describes judges who feel obliged to uphold only the specified rights in the U.S. Constitution.
Such wavering is inconsistent with the principles Giuliani champions in his book Leadership, a central one being strong self-definition.
And how can he claim to be adhering to the truth when, in his mind, there are several versions of it on this issue?
Giuliani's brand of Republicanism -- conservative on fiscal and security matters but socially liberal -- was always going to be problematic nationally, though it earned him the maximum two terms as mayor in Democraticleaning New York.
As campaigning continues, he will face increasing questions from the Republican right over his liberal stances on several other issues, such as gay rights and gun control.
There's also his tumultuous domestic life.
He's married to his third wife, and has a difficult relationship with his two children, reportedly because of their dislike for their current stepmother, also in her third marriage.
Opponents of all political stripes will attack him over his former close association with his last police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, who last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanour ethics violations.
Giuliani's bid to take on the Republican party over abortion rights contrasts with the approach of fellow presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a Mormon.
While Romney declared himself pro-abortion when running for state senator and later governor in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, he has now flipped back to his earlier antiabortion position.
While Giuliani's wavering is far from Romney's credibilitydeficient about-turns, his claim that his determination to stick to his convictions makes him a strong leader rings hollow.
© National Post 2007
Back at ya.
Don’t be disappointed——but actually it’s not that hard.
Thanks for the—ah—kudos?
“I do not mock people behind their backs, I do it right to their (virtual) face. Even if they do not realize how badly they are being mocked.”
I would say the reverse is true. However, you appear to share the same sense of humor as Hillary Clinton, without the smelly pantsuit. Have a good day.
Oh you must be one of those Jugalos. They can be mocked right in front of their virtual face and are too dense to see it.
REPLY:
Yes, I have lots and lots of gall when it comes to protecting my family, my country and my way of life from a bunch of loony, fringe, left wing fanatical, muck diving, sewer rat, Democrats.
I will guarantee you that is exactly what we will have for leadership the next four years if anyone of the current Democrat candidates get elected to POTUS.
X#^#X dirtboy.
A jihadist is not necessarily an Islamic terrorist.
The election of 2008 is more important than any election of our life time.
The next President of this great country will either take us Right or far to the left, way far to the fringe left.
Bill and Monica’s cigar incident will seem like a Sunday school lesson if any of the current Democrat candidates get elected.
Once again, you are equating pro-lifers to Islamic terrorists. And that is an abomination. Especially when there are PLENTY of GOP candidates who are both pro-WOT and pro-life.
And Rudy was his evasive self as noted by The Washington Times today: "Giuliani sidesteps social questions" (May 16, 2007, p. 1). He reminded me of the Democratic debate where all but two kept evading answering questions. I find it dishonest.
His support for amnesty is shows his lack of understanding or concern for WOT - another area where he is weak no matter how much his parrots 9/11.
Rooty does NOT have the required poise, composure and presidential aura of say, Romney.
Rooty's deer-in-the-headlights look is very telling. He was VERY nervous having to answer tough questions.
Like he was thinking---"Hope I don't screw up like I did last time."
Ha ha! Isn’t that the same look he has in the “Danthing With the Fagth” picture?
LOL
How do you figure? It seems to me that by pushing an unelectable candidate, your long-shot gamble is likely to result in the donks winning in 2008.
The problem is, any statement Giuliani makes supporting personal liberty, states’ rights and the Constitution is diametrically opposed to his record as mayor — where he trampled personal freedom and violated nine of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights.
I agree that the WoT is one of the most important issues of our time. So what candidate do you think has the foreign policy experience needed to effectively fight the GWoT overseas?
I don’t like to say NEVER, but voting third party as a protest is something I’ve never done.
That oughta scare the heck out of the terrorists./sarcasm
Which candidate has foreign policy credentials?: NONE!
I will have respect for whoever can get Fareed Zakaria or even Kissinger on the line. Walter MacDougall would work as well.
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