Posted on 12/09/2007 6:19:49 PM PST by Liz
WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani doggedly insisted Sunday that threats against then-girlfriend Judith Nathan prompted the NYPD to launch her taxpayer-funded chauffeur services. "These were all based upon threat assessments made by the New York City Police Department ... of what was necessary to protect her life, my life, other people's lives," Giuliani told NBC’s Tim Russert. "Every single thing done here was done based upon the assessment of someone else that this was necessary." His explanation of Nathan's car service doesn't square with Friday’s Daily News exclusive report, citing multiple witnesses and a law enforcement source, that she was being protected by city taxpayers months before the affair was revealed in May 2000. "The threats were after" their romance became known, Giuliani maintained yesterday.
The only guest on Russert's "Meet the Press," Giuliani endured the most exhaustive and at times withering examination of his personal character and business dealings of his campaign. To the glee of fellow Presidential contenders who've grudgingly marvelled at his political staying power, the Republican frontrunner spent nearly all of an hour playing defense, attempting to deflect a flurry of questions about his relationship with indicted pal Bernard Kerik and Kerik's mistress Judith Regan, controversial corporate clients and his own tangled personal life. "He's held up in the polls a lot longer than anyone thought," a neutral GOP consultant predicted, "but the baggage is finally starting to catch up with him."
Giuliani said again that he did a poor job of vetting Kerik but denied he allowed personal loyalty to trump his judgment. He said he knew Regan was Kerik's publisher but wasn’t aware of their Ground Zero love nest in a pad reserved for recovery workers. He defended the activities of his security and legal businesses as "ethical, lawful, decent work," but said he won’t release a list of his clients because he's promised many of them confidentiality.
In one seemingly contradictory answer, Giuliani said he’ll consider further disclosures at a later date: "I'm not going to do more than what is absolutely required, and we'll go further than that." Predictably, Democrats piled on. "Rudy Giuliani's refusal to be honest about his shady past is becoming a chronic habit," Democratic National Committee spokesman Dag Vega jabbed. As voters learn about his penchant for covering up scandals, they will continue to turn away from his candidacy."
The usually-combative candidate was uncharacteristically subdued throughout the grilling. Somberly dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and TK tie, Giuliani employed many of the timeworn techniques of damage control. He turned the tables on his inquisitor - "that's a stretch," he politely complained once - and borrowed from the Watergate scandal's signature "mistakes were made" rationale.Stealing a page from Hillary Clinton’s script, he wielded a tactical laugh now and then. He blamed the media for hyping the facts, and invoked the memory of a fellow ex-mayor to explain his poor judgment about Kerik. "As one of my predecessors, Fiorello LaGuardia, used to say, 'I don't make many mistakes, but when I make them, they're big ones.'"
That was a reference to LaGuardia's celebrated 1941 wisecrack: "When I make a mistake, it's a beaut." In a rare interlude from his self-defense chores, Giuliani took issue with ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 1992 remark that homosexuality is an "aberrant" lifestyle. "I don't believe it's sinful," he said. "It’s the various acts that people perform that are sinful, not the orientation that they have." The corps of sinners, he added, includes His Honor: "I've had my own sins that I’ve had to confess and had to deal with and try to overcome, and so I'm very, very empathetic with people, and that we're all imperfect human beings struggling to try to be better."
With David Saltonstall
I wish he and others would truthfully grill all of the presidential candidates. I want them all thoroughly vetted, otherwise we are just voting based on who has the best propaganda machine and the most media-whores in their pocket.
And Russert is the man for the job.
I see.....
Whether Russert, or anyone else, it is the content I’m listening to.
Do you see something wrong with that?
I sure won’t rely on Hannity to provide any relevant discussion.
Russert is trying to take down Rudy because the libs think he has the best chance of defeating Hillary or Obama. Fact is, Rudy is one of the least likely GOP candidates who could defeat the Dems.
There must be some minimal standards for a candidacy to be treated respectfully. How would you respond to a Scott Peterson campaign for president?
I'll grant you that Rudy is probably not as bad as Scott Peterson, but in terms of character and fitness for office, he's really much more like Scott Peterson than he is like any of the other candidates for the GOP nomination.
You can't deny that.
NO !!
We can survive and have survived forty years of suffering. We won't survive four years of President Rudy. He's just too weak in character. Our enemies would use his many weaknesses to manipulate him.
Let me know when Russert has the bitch on and he asked her about - hiring detectives to intimidate Bubba’s bimbos, Robert Ray saying she was guilty of lying in the travel office firings scandal, but he couldn’t prove it in court, her brothers charging sleaze-bags $ 400,000 to get a last-minute pardon from Bubba, does she think her husband has assaulted numerous women over the last 40 years, why Brad DeLong said she was an abysmal failure trying to run the health care reform overview in the early 90s, why Jerry Zeifman, her Watergate boss, said she broke numerous ethics rules and should never be trusted in public office again ..just for starters..
Let me know when that show comes on Sunday morning and I promise to watch if he grills her for a solid hour. I have a better chance of winning the lottery than the bitch facing any hard questions from Russert or anyone. Russert's a whore who does whatever his bosses order him to do. Here's a man who watched all the footage of the Juanita Broaddrick interview by Lisa Meyers for Dateline, was very disturbed by what he saw, I'm sure thinks Bubba raped Juanita Broaddrick - yet he still spouts the party line about Clinton and gives them both all kinds of positive spin. If he was around when Hitler was gassing Jews, knew it and was told to ignore it, keep harping the Nazi line - he'd do it... I lost all respect for this clown when he continued sucking up to The Rapist, after what he learned about Clinton's sordid history with women.
It’s easy to deny schizophrenic assertions such as yours.
Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife and dumped their dead bodies in the ocean.
To say that Rudy is like Scott Peterson is absolutely insane. You are working for the enemy.
It’s easy to deny schizophrenic assertions such as yours.
Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife and dumped their dead bodies in the ocean.
To say that Rudy is like Scott Peterson is absolutely insane. You are working for the enemy.
“We can survive and have survived forty years of suffering” right, but look where we are - SS about to go broke, Medicare/caid about to gobble up the tax base, illegal immigration has turned into an invasion, senators more concerned with the due process rights of admitted terrorists than marines serving in Iraq, calls for devasting environmental regulations that will cripple the economy....
Your point about Rudy is well taken - “He’s just too weak in character. Our enemies would use his many weaknesses to manipulate him.” This is an argument against him I can respect. Simply saying he’s not conservative enough, to me, isn’t sufficient given the alternatives, but what you point out here is different.
Then again, doesn’t it come down to this - a choice between the lesser of two evils or sitting it out and letting others select the lesser of two evils? I’m really struggling with this. Pre-9/11 I sat elections out b/c I was not supportive of the choices I was given by the RNC/DNC insiders. Then post-9/11 I began to think it’s far too important to sit out and allow the likes of someone like John Kerry to be put in office, even if Bush was imperfect in my eyes. I face the same issue again - am I to try and “survive” Hillary for 4-8yrs? Hillary can and will do enormous damage to this country. Look what’s been done over the last few decades.
I don’t think there’s a right or easy answer to this problem.
Actually, the only line of thinking I see is the outright rejection of a phony-Republican whose record and platform lines up more closely with that of the Democrat Party. An "R" should mean more than a letter next to someone's name.
Such as a few forum members posting on this thread.
They have not been able to supply a video link of the supposed dust-up Russert had with Her Heinous, either.
Here is a link to video of the half-hour interview:
'Meet the Candidate': Hillary ClintonSept. 23: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., discusses 2008 presidential campaign with 'Meet the Press' moderator Tim Russert.
Why did you say that twice while calling me schizophrenic, Miss Multiple Personalities!!
I agreed from the outset that Rudy is probably not as bad as Scott Peterson - Not-Quite-As-Bad!
That's as far as I can go. Don't ask for anything more than that!!!
Rudy will come in third, where he belongs!!
From Clemenza | 12/10/2007 9:19:11 AM CST
Why would someone with your heritage want to support a corrupt greaseball lawyer from Lawn Guyland as President?
Kinda sad to see our choices in ‘08. Romney is probably the most competant (and the one with the most successful career outside of politics), but his shifting of opinion strikes most as insincere.
Xxxxxxxxxx
When we look at the eight candidates on the Democrat side and the eight candidates on the Republican side is only two or three candidates that has the brainpower and business smarts to handle President of the United States.
Most all of the Democratic candidates are ideologues, have no business experience whatsoever, best said, slim and none and slim just left town. I doubt if any of the Democratic candidates have ever made up a payroll in the business environment. The only candidate smart enough and his Democratic group should he become president would be Joe Biden, because none of the rest have any real experience in their life.
Regarding the leading Republican candidates I agree with you, perhaps Mitt Romney and the other candidate is Rudy Giuliani are the only two candidates will enough business experience, business savvy and business experience to handle President of the United States.
Rudy has that experience. When you’re a businessman you hope to make 60% of your decisions right because of a bunch will be wrong. Rudy has been in the decision-making process for 30 years making thousands of decisions.. Of course in his lifetime there’ll be some decisions if he had to do over again Rudy would make a different choice I’m sure.
I’m not going to let one or two dozen wrong decisions out of thousands change my opinion of a highly qualified businessman, politician, and a leader capable of leading our country. Mitt in my opinion still a bit too stiffly but he can grow into the job. Hucklebee is too much like a half Jimmy Carter preacher in principle very gregarious however does not have the business experience of Mitt or Rudy.
Not-Quite-As-Bad is the same as equating one of our Republican candidates with a cold-blooded murderer. It is a sick thing to say, and evil as well.
I remember when Ted Bundy said that, too.
At a minimum, Rudy is a thief. We can't have a thief-president.
No on Rudy!!!
Saying that Rudy is "Not-Quite-As-Bad" as Scott Peterson does not "equate" Rudy with Scott Peterson. "Not-Quite-As-Bad" means "NOT-Quite-As-Bad."
Please quit mischaracterizing what I say.
Besides, you know yourself that if I'm not exactly right, I'm Very-Close-To-Right.
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