The Republican-Tea Party Catapults Rudy Giuliani into first place

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

This is a mind-f***er of all mind-f***ers!  In the jangled, early scramble for the GOP Presidential nomination, seemingly out of nowhere, Rudy Giuliani has suddenly--and barely--become the front runner!  He's hardly even said he was thinking of running.  But somehow the withdrawals of Huckabee, Crist, and Trump, not to mention the near total collapse of the Newt Gingrich "campaign" have catapulted Crazy Rudy to the top of the rockpile.  Who knows what next week's polls will show, now that Sarah Palin's actions indicate she is about to leap in?

But Rudy?  Have the Republican-Tea Party voters forgotten how quickly his candidacy self-immolated last time around?

The results of the current CNN poll (Gingrich didn't even clear 10% this time):

Giuliani 16%
Romney 15%
Palin      13%
Paul       10%

The poll has a 4.5% margin of error...in short, these "front-runners" are all basically in a dead-heat for first place.
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Rudy Giuliani & Republican Family Values

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

It almost snaps my brain-pan from its moorings to hear Rudy Giuliani come out against gay marriage. . .or try to speak with any authority at all on marriage period--straight or gay.

Rudy Giuliani was curb-stomped in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination. . .and yet, he seems to be pondering a comeback. NY Governor David Paterson is extremely vulnerable right now, and Giuliani may well swoop in and attempt to grab the job like a shark circling a wounded dolphin. In Monday's New York Post, Giuliani hinted that, if he did run, same-sex marriage would be a flagship issue.

Paterson introduced a bill that would, if passed, legalize same-sex marriage. In an interview, Giuliani came out very strongly against that idea, and said that it could galvanize New York Republicans in 2010. "This will create a grass-roots movement. This is the kind of issue that, in many ways, is somewhat beyond politics," the former New York City mayor told Post reporter Fred Dicker. "I think gay marriage will obviously be an issue for any Republican next year. . ."

He later said that that same-sex marriage "will be something that Republicans don’t have to use -- this is something that will bring a lot of people to the Republican Party because it’s such a basic challenge to what people believe is the way society should be organized."

Of course, an open attack like this will open up the subject of Giuliani's execrable conduct of his own family life. He's working on Marriage No. 3, and is estranged from his children. At least one of them, I remember, didn't even vote for him in the primaries. . .they voted for Obama. As his flame-out for the Republican nomination demonstrated, Giuliani just doesn't get a lot of traction on anything (except possibly "9/11"). He has gay friends. He has been known to dress in drag. One of his gay friends (in fact Rudy lived with two gay men when he was between wives in the 90s), Howard Koeppel, told the New York Post that Giuliani said that if same-sex marriage were to become legal in New York, "he would marry us himself."

It's hard to understand why we are even still talking about this. Rudy Giuliani, who moved his girlfriend into Gracie Mansion while his wife and children were still living there, who married and divorced his own cousin, and turned his back on his children, is just about the last person we should look toward for any wisdom about marriage. Or politics. Or national defense. However, that being said, I welcome Rudy to run for governor or for President again.
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Kisses at the GOP Convention

The Republicans have become the party of the air kiss.

Last night, Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin fired a couple at the attractive crowd of Republicans.

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Huckabee & Obama take the Iowa contest

click the winners to enlarge

Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama took the Republican and Democratic caucus votes in Iowa on Wednesday, and in the Democratic race, left Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd on the sidelines, as they dropped out of the race. Mitt Romney is sweating. Hillary Clinton "the electable one" is really sweating. John Edwards feels OK. He survived another day. Rudy? McCain? Richardson? The rest of the pack? Hanging on by their fingernails, or mired in the back where they've always been...

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Newsweek looks into what makes Rudy Rudy

If you're a regular reader, you know we think The Mayor of 9/11, Rudolph Giuliani, is not specifically the best choice for President of the United States of America. Far from it. From the Republican column, we would even give the nod to that dingbat Dennis Kucinich, or the plodding but charming Fred Thompson (bonus: knockout first lady) before we'd give the nod to Rudy. If I was a Republican I'd probably vote for Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney. Note: I've only voted for two republicans in my entire life, and I'd be glad to do it again if they could just quit sounding like, well, Nazis, toothless hillbillies, imbeciles, reactionary toads , whores to the establishment, Republicans.

Giuliani unquestionably has done some good in his life. He completely turned around the town I lived in for five years (NYC), and as a federal prosecutor, he broke the strangle-hold of the mob on NYC and elsewhere. But then there were other problems, with his trigger-happy police, who seemed to feel like they had a standing shoot to kill order on anyone who breached the peace, or with his personal life where he felt no compunction about housing his girlfriend and wife and children in Gracey Mansion at the same time. And then, at his nadir in public opinion as he was about to leave office, 9/11 happened, and he walked around with a hardhat and megaphone issuing sound bites to a ravenous press, and he was suddenly transmogrified into an expert on Islam, terrorism, and national security. The policemen and women and the firefighters do not agree. And neither apparently do many other people. Under this logic, I should probably be the police commissioner of New York City, since I was mugged three times while I lived there.

In their December 3 issue, Newsweek publishes a fascinating article on just what made Rudy Rudy:

"On Sept. 16, 1992, the police in New York City held a rally that spun out of control. The cops wanted a new collective-bargaining agreement, and they were angry at Mayor David Dinkins for proposing a civilian review board and for refusing to issue patrolmen 9mm guns. More than a few of them tipsy or drunk, the cops jumped on cars near city hall and blocked traffic near the Brooklyn Bridge. According to some witnesses, they waved placards crudely mocking Mayor Dinkins, the first black mayor of New York, on racial grounds, while at the same time chanting "Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!" to welcome Rudy Giuliani, the crime-busting former U.S. attorney who had arrived in their midst to shore up his political base.

"It is not clear Giuliani knew exactly what he was getting himself into—he later denied that he did—but video shows him wildly gesticulating and shouting a profanity-laced diatribe against Dinkins. The next day the New York newspapers were sharply critical of Giuliani (a Daily News editorial called his behavior "shameful"), and Dinkins, years later, accused him of trying to stir up "white cops to riot." At the time, Giuliani refused to back down or apologize for his remarks, saying only: "I had four uncles who were cops. So maybe I was more emotional than I usually am." Giuliani's performance that day lost African-American voters, some permanently, but it guaranteed the informal backing of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the policemen's union, which helped him get elected mayor in 1993."

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Giuliani: front-runner in name only?

The Mayor of 9/11 in drag

Citizen Rudolph Giuliani's hold on the front-runner slot is rapidly crumbling. It may not even matter that he leads in the national polls. . .he is being trounced in the two first primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire. Iowa is almost as key for the G.O.P. candidates as it is for the Dems. Conventional Wisdom says that if Senator Clinton takes Iowa, the race is virtually over.

Two new polls show Mitt Romney taking a widening lead in New Hampshire, the first battleground.

While The Mayor of 9/11 has held onto his lead in national polls and several states, Ex-governor Romney is now well ahead in both Iowa and New Hampshire, the two early-voting states that have always been key in determining the Republican nominee.


homina homina homina

Mr. Romney has now opened up a 12-point lead over Giuliani in New Hampshire, 32% to 20%, in a Boston Globe/University of New Hampshire poll released Sunday. The latest Marist College poll, also released yesterday gives him an 11 point edge. Senator McCain of Arizona is running third in both surveys.

Mitt Romney has consolidated his lead and the Republican contest is now a horse race, despite the surveys in September that suggested Giuliani had closed the gap in New Hampshire. Mr. Romney has been ahead in Iowa by double digits since summer. The Iowans caucus on January 3.

"Certainly [Romney] has to be seen as the front-runner now," a political scientist and pollster at the University of New Hampshire, Andrew Smith, said yesterday.

Bummer for Rudy. . .since he has recently been jawboning about winning New Hampshire. It now looks like Romney may sweep the first two states. If that happens, it would catapult Romney into the Michigan, Florida, and South Carolina contests later in January.

It can't help the Mayor of 9/11 that his former New York police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, (whom Mr. Giuliani recommended to President Bush as a secretary of homeland security in 2004) is in hot water. That pathetic recommendation not only brought heat down on the former mayor, but also piled more trouble on the already deeply troubled Bush Administration.

If you've been following the election here, you remember I predicted Romney would surge ahead. I'm just a little shocked it has taken this long.

At least Rudy had some good news this weekend...Pat Robertson's endorsement!
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Fred Thompson, the real deal

Republican presidential wannabe Fred Thompson took a few jabs last night rival Rudy Giuliani in a speech on the ex-mayor's home turf. "Some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them. I could not disagree more," the one-time Tennessee senator says in remarks he is to deliver to the Conservative Party of New York.

"I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them. This is not a time for philosophical flexibility, it is a time to stand up for what we believe in," said the late entrant into the Presidential sweepstakes.

Thompson never specifically mentions Giuliani in the leaked speechmade available to The Associated Press, but he's clearly trying to position himself against the rival who is--incredibly-- leading in national Republican polls. Giuliani was once a Democrat. Unlike Thompson, the New Yorker backs abortion rights and gay rights. He's waffled on gun control. His bobbing and weaving makes John Kerry look absolutely resolute.

Fred, if you want to win the election, you need to do two things. 1) Bring Jeri out on the campaign trail! and 2) Ask Rudy in a public debate why he is an expert on combating terrorism. Does being the victim of an act really make you The Expert on all aspects of that act? Rudy may be able to build a megamillion dollar business based on his alleged expertise, but can he really pull the wool over our eyes on this one?

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Indecision 2008's profile of Rudy

I like Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 web site. Here is their profile of Rudy Giuliani--a subtle, but nice jab,

Full Name: Rudolph William Louis Giuliani
Party: Democrat Independent Republican
Date of Birth: May 28, 1944
Official Website: http://www.joinrudy2008.com/
Number of Wives: 1 2 3
Favorite Two Numbers: 9, 11
Famous Quote: "Freedom is about authority."

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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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Rudolphs Giuliani loses another supporter: his daughter Caroline

click Caroline Giuliani's Facebook profile to enlarge


It looks like Rudy Giuliani can't count on his daughter's vote. And his son's (see All This is That: Giuliani son: "I have problems with my father, but it doesn't mean he won't make a great President." ). Or most certainly his ex-wife's (the lovely Donna Hanover). In his 2008 presidential bid, he'll be going without the support of his ex-family. According to 17-year-old Caroline Giuliani's Facebook profile, she's supporting Barack Obama. Go to Slate.com to read Lucy Morrow Caldwell's story.

Other recent articles on The Mayor of 9/11 on All This Is That:

The Mayor of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, admits he exaggerated how much time he spent at ground zero

Presidential Candidate-Mayor Of 9/11 Giuliani In A Snit Over Jeri Kehn Photos Garnering Too Much Attention

None of the above: the top Republican Presidential candidate

Vanity Fair asks "Is Rudy Giuliani crackers?"

Giuliani warns of a "new 9/11' if Democrats take the White House

The Scariest Looking Public Figure We Know Endorses Rudolph Giuliani For President

Giuliani: The Candidate For 9/11—See The Onion

Giuliani son: "I have problems with my father, but it doesn't mean he won't make a great President."

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The Mayor of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, admits he exaggerated how much time he spent at ground zero

Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor, new multimillionaire, and Presidential wannabe, admitted yesterday that he is fundamentally a worthless sack of s***. This was not news to the hard-working firefighters or police officers of New York City who have watched him milk glory from his photo ops for the last seven years.

The Mayor of 9/11's hopes of support from the firemen and cops of NYC were on the rocks as the ex-Mayor inserted his foot into his mouth once again.

Giuliani admitted Friday on Mike Gallagher's syndicated radio show that he misspoke when he said he spent more time at ground zero— exposed to the same health risks—than the clean-up workers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I think I could have said it better," he told the radio host . "You know, what I was saying was, 'I'm there with you.'"

The former New York mayor struck a very raw nerve with firefighters and police officers when he told reporters at a baseball game in Cincinnati this week "I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them." Fire and police officials responded angrily, saying Giuliani did not do the same work as those involved in the rescue and cleanup from the 2001 terrorist attacks, which left ever-rising numbers of those workers sick and injured.

Unless I misjudge what I saw at ground zero last month, it appears those workers actually did more than put on hard hats and stern faces, pose for photographers, and issue pithy sound bytes.

This latest Giuliani imbroglio makes you wonder about the Republican Presidential field's prospects. The first tier of Thompson, McCain, Giuliani, and Romney all appear to be faltering, in either fund-raising, support, or both. How long can it be before Newton Gingrich holds his nose and wades into the fray?
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Presidential Candidate-Mayor Of 9/11 Giuliani In A Snit Over Jeri Kehn Photos Garnering Too Much Attention

Rudolph Giuliani is reportedly in a snit over the fact that Jeri Kehn Thompson's photos have been appearing all over the internet and blog world. Until those photos began appearing, Giuliani's photos in a gown had been far more prevalent. "OK," Giuliani said on the phone to an All This Is That stringer, "yeah, people in the south and the flyover states didn't like my pictures in drag, but let's face it, they weren't going to vote for me anyhow. " Giuliani then characterized Fred Thompson as a person who has relations with barnyard animals.

The ex-mayor continued: "I look at it like they say, all publicity is good publicity. But these Jeri Kehn photos, man, they're chiseling away at me. And in my favorite picture, I have a Vera Wang on!"

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None of the above: the top Republican Presidential candidate

Lanky Link is turning triple axels in his grave, considering the

shambles into which his beloved party has fallen

A recent A.P./Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of all Republicans are unwilling to back any of the top four hopefuls—Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain or Mitt Romney—and that nary a candidate is a clear front-runner among Christian evangelicals. The top vote-getter in the G.O.P., so far, is "none of the above."

The moribund G.O.P. not only can't make up their minds about a candidate, but they seem to he hanging onto their shekels, piastres, and pesos. The Democrats have thus far raised far more cash--$80 million against a meager $50 million in the most recent quarter, as they also did in the previous period (Jan.-March 2007).

"Democrats are reasonably comfortable with the range of choices. The Democratic attitude is that three or four of these guys would be fine," David Redlawsk, a University of Iowa political scientist. "The Republicans don't have that; particularly among the conservatives there's a real split."

More Republicans have become apathetic about their options over the past month. 23 percent can't or won't say which candidate they would back, a jump from the 14 percent who took a pass in June.

Interestingly for the party of "the family," the three-times married Giuliani was still at the top of the polls, followed by Fred Thompson and John McCain, who have each been married twice. Mrs. Giuliani was even recently forced to admit thatRudy was actually her own third marriage. The candidate--Mitt Romney--who actually remained married for 30 years was at the bottom of the polls, in the single digits.

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Vanity Fair asks "Is Rudy Giuliani crackers?"

I don't want to say you read it here first, but you did. We first talked about this four months ago.

The only mystery about Rudy Giuliani's candidacy for President is when he will jump the shark. Anyone who has closely followed his career knows that he will soon enough, on camera or tape, completely loose his cool and incinerate his Presidential aspirations.

My friends Pete and Kev from NYC may disagree with this assessment, although anyone who has followed Rudy knows this. People seem to in general give Rudy a flyer on most of his transgressions because he "made the trains run on time." But a gentrified Times Square, a crackdown on crime, and (relatively) clean streets, do not mean that their progenitor should necessarily be the guy with his finger on The Button.

Read this fascinating article by Michael Wolff in Vanity Fair: Crazy for Rudy.

Recent Giuliani posts on All This Is That:

Giuliani warns of a "new 9/11' if Democrats take the White House
The Scariest Looking Public Figure We Know Endorses Rudolph Giuliani For President
Giuliani: The Candidate For 9/11—See The Onion
Giuliani son: "I have problems with my father, but it doesn't mean he won't make a great President."
Running on empty—Send in the clowns—Announced, probable, and possible candidates for President of the United States
Republicans tied to the whipping post
Bernard Kerik--The Rest Of The Story.
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Giuliani warns of a "new 9/11' if Democrats take the White House

Republican presidential wannabe, the Mayor of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani responded yesterday to a question at a campaign stop in Henniker, New Hampshire, saying that if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for a terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001.

If a Republican is elected, however, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped.

“If any Republican is elected president—and I think obviously I would be the best at this—we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it,” Giuliani said.

Yet. . .yet. . .who WAS in charge on 9/11? As we've asked before, how does being the mayor of a city that was attacked give you credentials for preventing anything at all? I think what we did see is that Giuliani is capable of multiple photo-ops and press conferences, none of which—as far as I know—actually prevents anything.

Recent articles on Rudolph Giuliani in All This Is That:

Running on empty—Send in the clowns—Announced, probable, and possible candidates for President of the United States
Giuliani: The Candidate For 9/11—See The Onion
Republicans tied to the whipping post
Giuliani son: "I have problems with my father, but it doesn't mean he won't make a great President."
Rudy Backs Off
Photomontage: Presidential Contenders And Wild Cards
Front-runners Clinton and McCain losing ground fast/All This Is That's dark horses are mired in the back of the pack
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The Scariest Looking Public Figure We Know Endorses Rudolph Giuliani For President

Ex-Republican mayor of 9/11, Rudolph Giuliani, was endorsed by Steve Forbes today in his 2008 presidential bid. The billionaire publisher, failed Presidential candidate, and flat tax proponent will also help co-chair the campaign according to the Giuliani Campaign.

So now, the scariest looking politician of the late 20th century throws in with Rudy. As if Giuliani doesn't have trouble enough! It couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

All This Is That has been in contact with Charles Manson in Corcoran State Prison in California, in hopes we can induce him to also endorse the former mayor.

Giuliani is perhaps best known as being Mayor of New York City the day of the September 1, 2001 WTC attack. He is also widely-known as the man who kept his mistress on one floor and his family on another floor of the mayor's home, Gracie Mansion. Since leaving office, Giuliani has exploited his popularity--and enriched his bank balance--through a security consulting firm where he markets his expertise in being attacked.

The Republican front-runner, who has amazingly yet to lose his temper in the early race, has about six weeks left before his candidacy implodes. With Senator John McCain's shockingly anemic performance, it will only be about two months before Ex-governor Mitt Romney surges into the lead.

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