Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph W. Giuliani praised President Bush’s war leadership on Saturday and mocked supporters of a nonbinding congressional resolution condemning the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq.
The former New York City mayor came to Bush’s defense as he promoted his White House candidacy at a California Republican convention. Drawing parallels between Iraq and America’s Civil War, Giuliani compared Bush’s political troubles to Abraham Lincoln’s. When the Civil War was unpopular, Giuliani said, Lincoln “kept his eye ahead.”
“He was able to say, ‘I know my people are frustrated, and I know my people are angry at me.’ ” But after weighing public opinion, Lincoln had “that ability that a leader has β a leader like George Bush, a leader like Ronald Reagan β to look into the future,” Giuliani said.
If George W. Bush is Abraham Lincoln then I must be Major-General JEB Stuart or something. I mean, seriously, I don’t think I can take too much more of this crap. Guiliani was a passable mayor. He had the great good fortune to run the city during a huge economic upswing. He had the great misfortune of being responsible on 9/11 when his hero George W. Bush was reading children’s books and fleeing for a bunker in Nebraska. Guiliani did the job he was called to do that day. He rose to the occassion. I’ll always admire what he did that day and in the days that followed. The man knows how to keep his head in a crisis, unlike his AWOL buddy in the White House. But Rudy has long ago milked that cow dry.
You can compare Bush to Abe Lincoln. It just makes you look like some kind of idiot. Or worse, it makes you look like you have absolutely no moral compass. But what should we expect from a man who made his name prosecuting mobsters only to turn around and appoint a mob-connected man to be his police chief when he became mayor?
If Bush is Lincoln then I guess Tom DeLay is Teddy Roosevelt, and Jack Abramoff is George Washington. We can make a new monument and call it Mt. Shamemore.
so I’m not surprised he is another closet Bush lover. Unfortunately he is another one of those so called republican moderates with cross over appeal. Lets hope the repubs crush him in the most vile way in their primary.
Personally, I didn’t, but would have had no problem living in Guiliani’s New York City. I’d consider it a major move in the right direction if the Republican Party was able to put aside its regional bias, it’s pro-life anti-gay dogma, and nominate a guy with the complicated marital history of a Guiliani. The only reason I would have to hope he loses the primary is that he might actually have a better chance to win the general than any other Republican. But we all learned with Reagan, it’s best not to allow a sure loser to win the nomination in the first place. They might not be a sure loser.
I don’t want a nut to win the GOP nomination on the theory that we will beat them really badly. I don’t want to take that chance.
I hope Rudy keeps talking about how much he loves Bush though, because each one of those comments makes a nice television commercial for ’08.
Rudy, prior to 9/11, was hated by all the true liberals I knew in NYC.
He’s a racist jerk with no respect for the constitution.
I’d agree with that summation
I don’t understand why he and McCain are falling over one another to praise Bush. Bush/Cheney is like an anchor, why grab on and sink with them? It’s one thing to be stuck with a vote for the Iraq War in 2003 like Clinton is. It’s another thing entirely to still be supporting it and supporting Bush’s handling of the war when what, 60 or 70% of the population no longer supports the war?
And like the cab driver in “Arsenic and Old Lace” said:
“I’m a teapot.”
Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways that W is like Lincoln. We tend to remember only the good things about Lincoln, like freeing the slaves in the rebel states. How about his recess suspension of habeas corpus? Arresting war protester democrats under military law instead of civil law because he didn’t want them tried by a jury of their peers? Ignoring rulings by the Supreme Court that he disagreed with? Issuing an arrest warrant for the Chief Justice because of a ruling against the president.
As far as respecting the constitution goes, W and Lincoln are actually in the same ballpark. As far as caring about write and wrong, they are worlds apart.
An interesting thought has occurred to me, Lincoln was the start of the Republican party, and there is a very good chance that George is the one that will tear it apart. Or at least I hope that is what happens.
Insurrection is serious business. If half this country was threatening to secede to maintain their anti-gay marriage laws and they had taken up arms against the federal government, I think I might have more sympathy for suspending habeas corpus.
that bunker in Nebraska . . .
Giuliani is a sinister figure. He is in no way a hero. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s kissing bush’s tukhes.
http://www.prospect.org/weblog/2006/09/post_1375.html
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=rudolph(_rudy)_giuliani
provided, so I do not know if they touch on the outrageous Motorola radio dealings under Giuliani:
From Radio Silence, F.D.N.Y.:
Or, perhaps the links you provided dig into why oh why “America’s Mayor” <gag> would choose to put the emergency operations center in the World Trade Center, against the advice of many experts, AFTER the buildings had been previously attacked.
Did you see the William Odom commentary in the WaPo today? “Victory is not an option.”
That’s the truth, and it’s obvious to anyone who has eyes. Why do Rudy, Lieberman, et al. think they can still spin a story of Bush as some kind of Churchill? They must think we are complete idiots. Or maybe they are.
Your sense of nausea is quite appropriate, Booman.
Did you see the William Odom commentary in the WaPo today? “Victory is not an option.”
A very interesting comment indeed and food for thought.
“Guiliani was a passable mayor.” No way Booman. Guiliani is a racist and a fascist. Remember Amadou Diallo — didn’t do nothing but come home and got blown away by 4 cops who Guiliani covered for. The guy is an unstable, vicious racist; if we elect him, we are choosing something more obviously evil than Bush. Takes some doing.
and awakes to the ghost of George Washington.
“George, you were a great President, how may I make this country great?”
“Avoid foreign entanglements,” responded Washington.
So Bush gets us involved in Iraq.
He takes another nap, and awakes to the ghost of Thomas Jefferson.
“Tom, you were a great President, and a damn good writer — how may I make this country great?”
“Maintain the separation of Church and State,” said Jefferson.
So Bush establishes the Office of Faith-Based Services.
He takes yet another nap (it’s what he does best, folks), and awakes to the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
“Honest Abe, you were truly a great President and did much to advance the cause of freedom — how may I make this country great.”
Responded Lincoln, “Go see a play.”
Maybe that’s what Rudy had in mind… π
Giuliani is running as BushCo’s boy.
He thinks that’s the way to go.
He’s just another servant.
“Yassuh, Boss!!! I is doing EVERYTHING IN MY POWER to git y’all to trust me, suh. I won’t let you down. NO suh. I is a GOOD mayor, suh. You kin count on me. YASSUH, boss. You kin sho ‘nuf count on me!!!”
In right wing money circles…the only circles that REALLY count… McCain is seen as the anti-Bush in terms of international tactics. He wants us to REALLY give ’em hell. None of that half-assed “Take the money and run” shit that we’re seeing now from the Halliburton/Bechtel nexus.
Little G. wants to front for those interests some more, just like Butchie Boy has been doing. A new gameshow host to boost falling ratings, but the same old game.
“I’M the one!!! I’ll make you some MONEY!!! Just look at what I did for the real estate interests in NYC. See? I’m your boy!!!”
Is there anyone else in serious contention?
Romney?
Please.
Gingrich?
Let us pray not.
The Rats only have two choices.
Run against Bush…and they can only run against Bush by being more warlike, as McCain is doing, because the other side is totally occupied by the Dems…or run in support of what Bush has done.
Modified support, as in “Well, yes. He made some mistakes…but his BROAD strategy was right on the money.”
Which is right where Giuliani is running now.
RIGHT in that pocket.
After comparing Bush to Lincoln, Giuliani said:
“President Bush made a decision to reverse the policy when we were on the defensive and put us on the offensive,” he said. “It was a very, very wise and brave decision to keep us safe.”
The Republican Party is at its best, he said, when it seeks to expand freedom — at home and abroad.
“That’s what we do,” he said. “We’re not always at our best. We’re not always right. But when we’re doing the core mission of our party, we’re expanding freedom, here in America and all over the world.”
“He demurred.”
Classy.
He’s a piece of shit.
Bet on it.
AG
P.S. For more of my take on this, I refer you to this post that I made on Sunday.
Why Giuliani Doesn’t Have A Snowball’s Chance In Hell To Become President Of The United States
Says it all.
Bet on it.
I already made this its own diary, but it got little attention.
Here’ a speech by Lincoln
I’d put in the link, but am not sure which HTML I need….my diary is still on the recent diaries list, though.
boo, there are a lot of very sick First Responders who aren’t so impressed with rudy. he may have looked good on TV on 911, but when it came to making the hard choices about protecting new york’s responders, word is he blew it.
actual new yorkers i know are decidedly not impressed with “america’s mayor” not for what he did that day, nor before or afterwards. you may want to dig a little deeper on this one.
Mount Shamemore?
I think you mean “Mount Shitmore”.