Posted on 10/01/2007 2:56:12 AM PDT by JRochelle
A lot is going well for Rudy Giuliani's campaign. His fund raising is strong. He outstrips his GOP rivals in national polls. His speeches on taxes and health care were solid. He picked up some foreign-policy gravitas with a successful trip to London.
But there is a fly in the ointment. Even members of Mr. Giuliani's own staff are appalled at how he handled the incident in which he answered a phone call from his wife, Judith, right in the middle of a nationally televised speech to the National Rifle Association.
What was that about? Columnist Robert Novak cites "supporters from outside the Giuliani staff" who claim that taking phone calls from his wife as been "part of his political bag of tricks all year." But Mr. Giuliani's deputy press secretary Jason Miller told me the NRA incident was definitely not a stunt. Instead it was a "candid and spontaneous moment" that would humanize the tough-guy former mayor with voters.
Nice try. Just in case this isn't obviously ridiculous, Fox News commissioned a poll on the subject. It found that only 9% of Americans think a candidate should ever interrupt a speech to accept a call from his spouse.
The fact is that people inside the Giuliani campaign are appalled at the number of times their candidate has felt compelled to interrupt public appearances to take calls from his wife. The estimate from those in a position to know is that he has taken such calls more than 40 times in the middle of speeches, conferences and presentations to large donors. "If it's a stunt, it's not one coming from him," says one Giuliani staffer. "It's an ongoing problem that he won't take advice on."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Consider a spring incident in Oklahoma City. Mr. Giuliani spoke twice at the Oklahoma History Center, first at a small private roundtable for $2,300 donors and then to 150 people who donated $500 apiece. Ten minutes into the roundtable, Mr. Giuliani's phone rang. He left the room to take the call, apparently from Mrs. Giuliani, and never returned. The snubbed donors received no explanation. "The people there viewed it as disrespectful and cheesy," says Pat McGuigan, a local newspaper editor who was asked by the Giuliani campaign to moderate the roundtable.
Rudy is a moron.
Then he is seriously henpecked, p-whipped or otherwise to screwed up to be POTUS. Personally I think it is a gimmick that grew old.
Quite simply he isn’t presidential material as a Rep. ,, if he ran as a NY liberal on the Dem side he would be a force to reckon with but on the rep side he is a non-starter as he doesn’t believe in our parties positions.
Here’s a clip of Glenn Beck’s speech to the NRA. Watch the first 50 seconds, he jabs at Rudy about the call.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/09/25/glenn.nra.conference.cnn?iref=videosearch
He's just showing the average New Yorker's contempt for people who live in "fly over" country. And as far as his conversion to a second amendment supporter
‘that would humanize the tough-guy former mayor with voters.’
What is it with this “tough guy” nonsense. Rooty’s a sawed off, liberal, gay pride marching crossdresser. Never saw any “tough guys” who fit that description.
That aspect of Rudy is indeed repulsive.
That agreed, are you claiming he was not a tough crime fighter and a tough administrator in getting an out of control city and budget under control? You can fly in the face of that reality if you choose, but that doesn’t change the truth.
I will say this. Mrs. Rudy is doing her husband no favors. It’s time she shut up with the constant phone calls. She needs an approximate schedule of his day, and not to call him when he’s apparently doing a public appearance. If she’s uncertain, she should wait until HE calls HER. If she doesn’t do this, then Rudy needs to turn his phone to voice mail when he’s speaking. If he doesn’t, then he’s toast. This can’t keep repeating itself.
I think he really doesn’t understand the offense people take at it, because he seems amused by it and to think it makes a humanizing schtick for him to play around with. He’s wrong.
Bye Bye Rudi
Well, this just won’t work for a President.
Kinda reminds me of one the “24” episodes, where President Logan’s wife kept calling him on cell phone.
"Quit stealing my material"
;^)
Bullsh_t!
The last thing I think of when I think of Giuliani is "tough-guy."
I do think, "philandering, cruel, spouse-abusing jerk" when I think of this anti-family man. I think this, of course, because of his multiple and variously disposed of former spouses.
The stupid phone call trick is to spread the propaganda that he's "Oh so love" in Mrs Current ShackJob.
What a crock!
“incident was definitely not a stunt. Instead it was a “candid and spontaneous moment” that would humanize the tough-guy former mayor with voters.”
IN other words, a stunt. If the purpose of it was to show ANYTHING then it’s a stunt.
I would never make my man look p-whipped or demand that he be, for me. I like my man to be manly, that does not preclude loving behavior, but this is way out of bounds. ewwww
And this from a man that dresses up like a woman. Fun is fun, but he just looks grotesque.
Sounds like he’s having marital problems.
Again.
To be honest, if this is the worst campaign faux pas that John Fund can find, then Rudy is doing pretty well.
Can anyone say: "Campaign Handlers needed in aisle 5."
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