Rudy catches a buss from wife Judi in Florida Tuesday night.
Posted on 02/01/2008 7:14:05 AM PST by Liz
Rudy catches a buss from wife Judi in Florida Tuesday night.
She brought enough political baggage to fill a Louis Vuitton trunk. Indeed, part of Rudy Giuliani's presidential flameout can be traced back to his Judi - the woman he fell for in a cigar bar in 1999 while he was the married mayor with a wife and two young children at home. "She was a major part of the reason for Giuliani's collapse," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
"Rudy wanted to head up the 'family values' party, and Judi didn't fit that label. Even worse, Giuliani was estranged from his children. Their refusal to campaign for him spoke volumes to voters."
Among the low notes that brought national embarrassment to the one-time GOP frontrunner: her use of taxpayer-funded NYPD detectives as personal valets and chauffeurs while she was the mayor's mistress; revelations of a secret past marriage; and interrupting Giuliani's speech to the National Rifle Association with a cutesy cell phone call to say hi.
Mike McKeon, the campaign aide who was in charge of handling Mrs. Giuliani's national "roll-out" last March, said that despite her lack of campaign chops, she was an experienced public speaker who would remain on the trail. "Judith is nothing but an asset, and, as the campaign continues, she's going to be a larger and larger asset," he had said. "She'll be one of our key surrogates." Never happened. Judith Giuliani was rolled back inside the campaign tent as fast as she was rolled out.
Doubts emerged early about the former pharmaceutical sales rep's ability to be a polished stand-in for her husband. At her first public appearance, a March fund-raiser in Manhattan, an unscripted Mrs. Giuliani rambled in front of 1,000 supporters. Guests winced when she talked about their first dates (he was a married man) and her ability to "pick up the phone as Judith Giuliani" and get the rich and famous to donate to her pet causes. The rest of the month did not go much better.
The former mayor's 21-year-old son, Andrew, said he would not be campaigning for his dad. "There's obviously a little problem that exists between me and his wife," he told an interviewer, exposing a deep family rift that remains.
Ten days later, the Daily News unearthed evidence of Judi's earlier Las Vegas marriage, forcing her to concede she had been married not twice, but three times. Giuliani also had to retract a comment during a Barbara Walters interview that, if elected, he'd allow his wife - a graduate of a two-year nursing program with no college degree - to sit in on cabinet meetings. Press accounts were not flattering either, describing the 53-year-old Hazleton, Pa., native as a social climber who liked to spend Giuliani's post-9/11 cash.
In a Vanity Fair profile last fall, a Giuliani aide remarked that an "entire airplane seat was needed for Judith's 'Baby Louis' - a reference to her expensive Louis Vuitton handbag - which sits in solitary splendor on her travels." Except for the past few weeks, where a doting Judith accompanied her husband on the stump in Florida, she largely remained behind the scenes.
Speaking to supporters in Orlando Tuesday night after he placed a distant third in a state where he once held a commanding lead, Giuliani turned first to his Judith, thanking her "for being a loving, patient and supportive partner." "Rudy would have been in this boat even without her," said a longtime Giuliani associate. "But she wasn't an asset. She brought a lot of it on herself."
The fact that someone is an "Evangelical" doesn't mean that he/she is not a pervert and a degenerate.
It was the elitist perverts and degenerates of the party (Bill Paxon, Steve Forbes, Club for Growth types, Pat Robertson, Ted Olsen, et al.) who tried to cram Rudy down the throats of the American people. They were supported by a lot of closet Rudy lovers like Rush Limbaugh who were afraid to announce their allegiance. I remember when they talked about Rudy being inevitable.
We should never let these people forget what we caught them trying to do to this country.
They've been keeping Giuliani's skeletons in the closet as much as possible, waiting for the most opportune time to parade them before the American people, viz. after he received the Republican nomination.
I'm not approving or disapproving of Giuliani's behavior. Frankly, I don't know much about it. Such things don't interest me. But the fact that I didn't know about all this until now--though obviously it was public knowledge--is a good indicator that most Americans didn't.
If Giuliani had received the Republican nomination, you can bet your last penney that the Democrat Propaganda Machine would have made sure that everybody knows every ignominious thing about him.
They'll do the same with any Republican nominee, no matter who it may be.
Nothing is beneath these lowlifes.
I don’t condone what he did, but he didn’t go looking for the media. I can, however, understand it. He is just 22 years old, and is probalby still smarting from it.
Donna Hanover has stayed out of it, and is probably laughing herself silly over it.
Well just heard on Fox that Ted Olson justendorsed McCain, lol. Ted is on his 4th or 5th wife. He remarried shortly after Barbara was killled. Says volumes about him.
Looks like she’s taken the role of “real housewife of NY City” on Bravo.
Put her to work for McCain. Maybe she can work some of her magic
Rudy and McKeating were on Leno last night ... another disgusting lovefest of these RINOs talking about conservatism. McCain was quoting Morris Udall and Chairman Mao, pumping "green technologies" as the solution to U.S. job losses, saying how climate change is real and he and Schwarzenegger want to clean up the planet "for the children," etc. It's time to put Judi on the McSwindle campaign trail to "help."
McCain: I think the important thing is to convince our Republican base which is very conservative that, one, I'm a conservative...
Hey, Juan! pffffft!
McCain has a TON of skeletons. Larry Flynt is hinting at them.
I wanted to respond to this article, but I can’t get past your crude language. Geezzzz. The gossipy tripe that you are talking about has been proven to be lies. There is far more substantive reasons to criticize Rudy, like the fact that he endorsed McCain.
Well, that figures, doesn't it? ;-)
Barbara must be rolling over in his grave. Seriously, there are MANY GOP men who secretly got off on Clinton’s misconduct, and wish that they could do it themselves... and get away with it, as he did. When GOP guys hear about all the action that the Democrat men get, they are pea green with envy. However, the Dems get away with it, because the Hillarys of the world let them. I don’t think Nancy Reagan, or the Bush wives would put up with it, so that’s the difference.
If the decent people who refuse to support McCain or any other Republican nominee carry out their threat not to do so, Bill Clinton will likely be filling Laura Bush's shoes.
(Kinda reminds you of Cindarella's stepsister, doesn't it?)
These decent people need to have the loose screws in their heads tightened up.
If the vision of Bill Clinton lounging around the White House puttin' the moves on one babe after another while Hillary drags the U.S.A. down the Road to Perdition doesn't tightened these people's loose screws, nothing will--except, perhaps, the reality that could follow that vision, but by then, of course, it will be too late.
What has been proven to be a lie?
So she laughs and lets her children do the dirty work? I don't see anything good in that.
The Daily News has waged jihad against Rudy for a long time. It appears they finally succeeded. We helped. More’s the pity.
Her kids are over 18. They can say and do what they want.
And Judi got a great pre-nup, so when they split, she will be set for life.
He should have told the media no comment when asked. Kids usually have a problem accepting stepmothers or stepfathers, no surprise there.
The media was looking to bring Rudy down and they succeeded.
Just wait when McCain’s turn comes around, they’ll be airing his comment about not having enough knowledge of the economy, his slip in referring to Putin as the leader of Germany, and all his blunders that we have not heard of yet. They’ll be reminding republicans about McCain’s amnesty, although that may work in his favour and may help him get some hispanic votes if he runs against Obama.
We may be hearing more about McCain’s age and bout with skin cancer.
I think the author's basic premise here is incorrect. It's hard to make the case that Judy was "baggage" for Giuliani's campaign when she was really more of a "campaign prop" than anything else.
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