It’s clear that Rudy is doing well. He’s being attacked from all sides.
One of the newest efforts to ding him is this 1993 Rudy Giuliani campaign ad which originally ran while he was in his second campaign for mayor. Apparently, Rudy’s opponents dredged this up hoping the ad will expose some sort of hypocrisy on his part. Or perhaps they believe the "soft side" approach taken in this old ad will counter his current "tough guy" image.
All I know is that nobody attacks guys they aren’t afraid of.
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2 comments:
In reading your reponse to my concerns about Rudy, I have to question just who is the conservative here. Is it such a hard test- being faithful to your marriage vows? You ask how many could meet such a test. My, does a conservative just assume that such traditional values no longer exist. I 've got some good news - among hard working Americans, honest men and women- both liberals and conservatives - in both blue states and red - both Republicans and Democrates being faithful to your marriage vows does still matter.
It is not about divorce. Many people come to realize that their marriage is not viable. An honest person admits it to himself and then moves to end the marriage, protecting and supporting his children in the process. A dishonest person continues the marriage and has a mistress. This is just a "simple flaw"?
As for piety- hell no, I don't want that. Fake piety is the crap we got with the likes of Bill Bennett and George Bush. Example- Harry S. Swore like a sailor- played poker to the wee hours and drank a hellof a lot of bourbon. Yet HE was a man of character - truly a conservative. The simple truth that most real conservatives know , is that the issue isn't divorce- that is O.K. - it does happen and in many cases should happen. The issue is the mistress- not being man enough to end the marriage- but being a weasel by having a mistress. Then you somehow blame his wife? She made him lie? She made him not stand up like a man ? She made him humilate her and humilate his children? Please!
I wonder what a great concervative such asBill Buckley thinks? Or better yet? I wonder what a conservative who was a man of integrity- Barry Golswater- would have thought- no doubt swearing in his grave- as he pours himself a stiff one.
Anonymous:
I have to tell you that I've seen a lot of comment lately along the lines you raise. Sugesstions that conservatives don't really care about values; they will hold their noses and vote for Giuliani because they want to win. These points seem to be raised by liberals, who seem to hope that conservatives will either (1) drop Rudy when they learn about his "bad" character or (2) will be shamed out of supporting him for fear of being seen as hypocritical.
I was never a "values voter". I'm not an evangelical Christian, I think gays should be allowed to have civil unions and I'm pretty close to indifferent about politician's personal lives. I never believed that Bill Clinton should have been impeached, even though his conduct in the White House was disgraceful.
I read somewhere that Harry Truman
would not hire anyone who cheated on his wife because he could not trust someone who would not keep his wedding vows. I think that means that Truman probably failed to employ a couple of guys who would have been good at some particular jobs, but had character flaws.
I believe men should be faithful to their wives. It is how I conduct my personal life and I have chastised a couple of close friends for bad behavior along those lines. I don't think Giuliani should be lauded for being a heel when it comes to how he treated his wife. By the same token, I don't think such personal episodes really tell us much about a person's qualification for President.
Rudy is not up for sainthood or a boy scout merit badge or the Knights of Columbus Man of the Year award. He's seeking to lead the country in a time of great danger. I am personally willing to ignore other considerations because I think he is perfectly suited to being President during this current crisis. I may have weighed those other considerations more heavily if the times were less threatening.
Does that make me less conservative? Maybe. In some respects, I may have to call myself a libertarian rather than a conservative.
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