Giuliani

Really, why wouldn't Rudy throw his hat into the ring? Sure he's a total failure. But is he more of a total failure than Newt or Mittens? For any well-known Republican, why not give it a shot?

Giuliani Out

Giuliani is dropping out.

Say what you will about St. John and Mittens, but Giuliani was the worst choice on the Republican side. That is one disaster avoided.

On the other hand, the idea of Giuliani as Attorney General in a McCain administration would be almost as bad. Great--Can't wait for the nightmare tonight.

Plus, is this nation really ready for an Italian to be president? That's the talk of bomb-throwing anarchists!

And the Hypocrite Award of the Day Goes To.....

Rudy Giuliani!!!! Yes, that's right, the failing ex-mayor of New York. Why does Rudy win? He wins the big prize because he has come out in favor of immigrants being forced to learn English....while running ads in Spanish!!!

Awesome. What does the man win? Well, we'll just call it the Abner Louima treatment. Rudy knows plenty about how awesome that is.

The Bible Speaks Directly To Giuliani

Rudolph Giuliani wants people to back off his personal life. Like any good faux-Christian politician, Giuliani bases this in the Bible.

"I'm guided very, very often about, `Don't judge others, lest you be judged,"' Giuliani told CBN interviewer David Brody. "I'm guided a lot by the story of the woman that was going to be stoned, and Jesus put the stones down and said, 'He that hasn't sinned, cast the first stone,' and everybody disappeared. It seems like nowadays in America, we have people that think they could've passed that test," he said. "And I don't think anybody could've passed that test but Jesus."

He then goes on to tell the Christian Broadcasting Network

"I think there are some people that are very judgmental."

Now that Giuliani has accepted Jesus into his life, does this mean that he will stop being so judgmental to blacks? To Muslims? To Democrats?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

Giuliani: Bringing the Crazy to a World Near You

My new piece on Giuliani's war cabinet is up at The American Prospect.

Be Very Afraid

Rob Farley takes a first look at Norman Podhoretz's...err, Rudy Giuliani's foreign policy manifesto in Foreign Affairs.

[The] piece offers a pretty faithful recitation of what I'll call the Neoconservative Romance. According to this narrative, the United States began the Cold War with a vigorous challenge to the Soviet Union that was made all the more pure by virtue of American beliefs in the evangelical power of "liberty." (The key elements to the romance would include, for example, the Truman Doctrine or the Berlin Airlift.) Over time, however, true believers watched as the nation's leaders fell into apostasy, drawing the nation farther from its Original Purpose; rather than challenging the Soviets directly, the US reigned itself to an unacceptable status quo that stifled the aspirations of half the planet. At the darkest hour, Ronald Reagan ascended to the presidency and retrieved history from the drainpipe.

It goes without saying that, in the neocon fairy tale of Good King Ronnie, the rescue of History Itself was not the culmination of decades of diplomacy, engagement, containment, negotiation, and occasional confrontation (And don't even think of suggesting that it had anything to do with the inherent weaknesses of the Soviet system. What are you, some kind of historian?) Reagan's single-handed victory over the Evil Empire represented the repudiation of anything other than confrontation, and thus justifies the confrontation of all subsequent Evil Empires.

It's obvious why Rudy is embracing the very kinds of policies which have proven so disastrous in the last years: "Toughness" is all he has to run on, especially in the primary. It speaks volumes about the Big Strong Daddy issues of the evangelical Republican base that a thrice-married, occasionally cross-dressing, pro-choice New Yorker even has a chance, let alone is one of the top contenders.

Rudy the Racist

I found Michael Powell's Times article on Rudolph Giulani odd. I suppose Giulani has "confronted the question of race" as the article's byline claims. He has confronted it by being a racist. So, I'm not sure "confronting" is the term I'd use. I'd say Rudy Giulani is a racist. The article tries to muster evidence to complicate his past, but Powell can't ignore the multiple times Giulani committed racist actions, allowed racist cops to operate, and used racial code words to attack African-Americans. When he left office, his approval rating among blacks was a whopping 7%. Which makes him a perfect candidate on race issues for the Republican Party.

Steve M at No More Mister Nice Blog has more.