And so it begins: Hillary and Giuliani commence trashing each other

Senator Clinton and the former Mayor of 9/11, Rudolph Giuliani have begun trashing each other in advertisements. . .as if the other dwarfs were no longer even in the race.

Rudy kicked off the war of words with a snarling attack on top Democratic contender, accusing her "spewing venom" at America's commander in Iraq. The former may of 9/11 placed a full page-ad in the New York Times chastising Clinton over her stance of the war. Shortly thereafter, he released an internet advertisement saying Clinton had turned her back on US troops, after first voting to authorize the war in Iraq, and now asking for an end to the occupation of Iraq.

"Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of herself for that," Giuliani said.

Rudy was responding to an ad by MoveOn.org, which ran in the Times earlier this week with a headline of "General Petraeus, or General Betray US?"

Clinton's campaign immediately shot back:

"It's hardly surprising that Mayor Giuliani is running the first negative ad of the '08 campaign, given his inability to justify his unqualified support for president Bush's failed Iraq strategy."

Giuliani supporters rally in Omaha, Nebraska


Giuliani's desperate move into mud-slinging comes just as Fred Thompson is chiseling away at the ex-mayor's lead in the race. Giuliani's hopes to seize the momentum again."He'd love nothing more than for her or members of her campaign to respond in an agitated way to what is clearly at best a very dubious linkage between what Moveon does and what Hillary Clinton says," said David Birdsell, professor at Baruch College.
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