I beg to differ:
Posted on 04/11/2007 7:01:55 AM PDT by Alter Kaker
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani hasn't done a lot of grocery shopping lately — at least based on his answers about the cost of milk and bread.
Campaigning in Alabama on Tuesday, the former New York City mayor portrayed himself as a fiscal conservative and an aggressive fighter of terrorism who has a lot in common with the Deep South state.
But when asked about more mundane matters — like the price of some basic staples — Giuliani had trouble with a reporter's question.
"A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30," he said.
A check of the Web site for D'Agostino supermarket on Manhattan's Upper East Side showed a gallon of milk priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread at $2.99 to $3.39. In Montgomery, Ala., a gallon of milk goes for about $3.39 and bread is about $2.
Later Tuesday, the Giuliani campaign pointed out that the national average for bread is $1.17 per pound, as listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government agency also lists milk as costing, on average, $1.60 per half-gallon.
Giuliani was closer to the mark on the price of a gallon of gasoline.
"Gas, I think, is $2.89," he said.
His difficulty with grocery items recalled another Republican's supermarket run-in. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush expressed amazement at a high-tech supermarket scanner, prompting critics to argue that he was out of touch with average Americans. The White House cried foul, pointing out that during a grocers' convention Bush had been impressed by a special scanner that could read torn labels.
Giuliani attended $1,000-per-person campaign fundraisers in Mobile and Montgomery before addressing a joint session of the Alabama Legislature that drew an overflow crowd.
Recalling that he worked in the Justice Department in President Reagan's administration, Giuliani said that like Reagan, he will not change course with the political winds.
"I'll set a course and stick with it. I'll be on offense on terrorism. I'll be a fiscal conservative. I'll lower taxes. I'll seek private market solutions to most problems," he told the Legislature.
The former mayor said he talked to radio host Don Imus, who has been suspended for two weeks for derogatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Giuliani said he considers Imus' apology sincere.
"I would appear on his program again, sure. I take him at his word," Giuliani said.
Asked about the flying of the Confederate flag in some Southern states, Giuliani said, "That's a good thing to be left on a state-by-state basis."
Giuliani said he did not recall seeing a Confederate flag during his day in Alabama — even though there was a display of four Confederate flags flying beside the Capitol.
The former mayor never mentioned his position on gay rights and abortion that separate him from traditional Republican voters in the state, but he said he would always be straight with voters.
"I will tell you what I believe. If you agree with it, fine. If you don't agree with it, you have a right not to agree with it. If you don't agree, you have a right not to vote for me," he said.
Giuliani said voters who disagree with him on some issues should consider whether they agree with him on the most important issues.
"On terrorism, you are not going to find anyone who is stronger and understands it better. On fiscal matters, you are not going to find anyone who is more conservative than I am. And on governing, you are not going to find anyone — I say this humbly but I think accurately — with more success in having to govern one of the most difficult places in the United States and turning it around," Giuliani said.
State Republican Party Vice Chairman Jerry Lathan, a Mobile businessman who hosted a fundraising reception for Giuliani, said the candidate's law-and-order record as a federal prosecutor in New York and his promise to appoint federal judges who are strict conservatives will appeal to voters in Alabama.
"Rudy is going to govern conservatively enough to make most Southern conservatives and Christian conservatives, which I am both, very happy," Lathan said.
Alabama is one of a growing number of states with its presidential primary on Feb. 5, 2008.
David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama, said Giuliani has been "the largest single surprise of the election session" because he has done so well despite "the liberal paper trail he has."
"Coming to states like Alabama and getting a good reception here is important," Lanoue said.
Carl Grafton, a political scientist at Auburn University Montgomery, said there is no major GOP candidate who satisfies the requirements of conservative Republicans in Alabama. Because of that, they will have to look at other candidates, and Giuliani's fiscal and defense policies should cause him to do "extremely well" in the state.
Republican presidential nominees have carried Alabama since 1980. But state Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said that if Giuliani wins the Republican nomination, his social views and personal life might change Alabama's history as a red state.
"Some of the Democrats are countering with their messages of faith, family and values," Turnham said.
Already posted, but by a different author.
Seriously, what is the significance of this?
For what it is worth, bread comes in a hundred forms, from the 99 cent white special I usually buy to $5 a loaf specialty types. A gallon of milk, he’s off on, though.
The only thing that catches me by surprise in this story is the fact that they’re dragging this out now. Then again, the presstitutes think that the Pubbies will nominate Rudi come Hell and high water.
Sorry, I searched and didn't see it.
Am I the only one who just gets the shopping done without checking out and memorizing the price of every item in the grocery store?
Agreed. Heck I couldn’t tell you what it is off the top of my head.
I beg to differ:
Have they asked the dem candidates the cost of a circular saw?
“Have they asked the dem candidates the cost of a circular saw?”
Very good point!
It suggests that Rudy's been in a bubble so long, he's completely out of touch with ordinary Americans (when was the last time you could buy milk for under $2?). Given that it's still a 18 months away from the election, that could be a bit of a deficit if other candidates can come across as more "real." The same thing happened to Bush in 1992.
Note that the dateline of the article shows Montgomery, Alabama, but the prices quoted for bread and milk are from Manhattan. No doubt prices in Montgomery are the same as those in NYC... (/sarc)
He should have said he doesn’t know because he is lactose intolerant.
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No. I couldn't answer this kind of question either.
I have no idea either.
Rudy has enough downsides without making up BS ones like this.
Heck, I haven’t bought a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread in years. I have no clue how much they cost, either, and just for the record I’m not running for President.
Never mind, I misread the part where they do talk about the cost of bread in Peoria, um, I mean, Montgomery...
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