More Oh-Eight (R)
Posted: Friday, March 09, 2007 9:05 AM by Huma Zaidi
Filed Under:
Republicans
As of now, Hagel is scheduled to appear at a bipartisan "presidential forum" sponsored by the International Association of Fire Fighters next Wednesday. According to the IAFF, Hagel confirmed his attendance on January 9. Most of the current candidates also are expected to attend, including McCain, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and former Sen. John Edwards.
Notably absent will be Giuliani -- a man fire fighters praised in the days after September 11. In a letter drafted on February 28, the IAFF wrote that Giuliani would not be invited to the forum. In the letter, they blasted Giuliani for his actions after September 11, mainly his decision to scale back efforts to recover bodies from Ground Zero. "His actions post 9/11 rise to such an offensive and personal attack on our brother and sisterhood - and directly on our union - that the IAFF does not feel Rudy Giuliani deserves an audience of IAFF leaders and members at our own Presidential Forum," they wrote. "He valued the money and gold and wanted the site cleared before he left office at the end of 2001 more than he valued the lives and memories of those lost... The fundamental lack of respect that Giuliani showed our FDNY members is unforgivable - and that’s why he was not invited."
Ultimately, that letter was never sent and the IAFF changed their minds and invited Giuliani anyway. After initially accepting the invite, Giuliani pulled out earlier this week.
The Politico suggests that Giuliani is about to get his, especially if rivals McCain and Romney have anything to say about it.
Speaking at a fundraiser in New York last night, McCain praised Giuliani for his leadership in the aftermath of September 11, but said Giuliani's lead over him in the polls is insignificant at this point in the race. "'He's an American hero and I can certainly understand why people would admire him very much,' McCain said… 'I'm not here to try to tout Mayor Giuliani for President of the United States, but having said that, he understands law and order,' McCain said."
The Los Angeles Times says Giuliani's recent surge "reflects the unsettled state of the GOP field. No candidate has established himself as the party's consensus choice... As the campaign intensifies, voters will get to meet the pre-9/11 Giuliani... a mercurial personality who humiliated his second wife in public. Meanwhile, his post-9/11 persona could prove a bonanza for opposition researchers: He has made millions in consulting and speaking fees that have so far been examined little."
The New York Times says Giuliani “appears to be mending fences” with former New York City police commissioner William Bratton, as the two met privately in Los Angeles -- for the first time in 11 years. “Richard Emery, a prominent New York lawyer who is close to Mr. Bratton, said, ‘Of all the conflicts to smooth over, this is a big one, because Bill could have an awful lot to say about Rudy in a campaign, and it wouldn’t be good.’”
Giuliani's surge in the polls despite his personal history, and his own continued popularity among conservatives, may have encouraged former Speaker Newt Gingrich to make the admission he did yesterday, that "he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair," as he told James Dobson's Focus on the Family. "Gingrich argued..., however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity."
The Hill reports that former Sen. Howard Baker (R) is making calls trying to gin up support for a presidential bid by his friend and former Sen. Fred Dalton Thompson. "Thompson has told allies in recent days that he is exploring seriously a bid for president in 2008 in response to what he has described as strong encouragement from Republicans dissatisfied with the current slate of candidates. Thompson said one reason he is hesitant about running is his longtime friendship with [McCain]. Thompson was one of only four Republican senators to endorse McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign and was an important ally in McCain’s effort to pass campaign-finance reform in 2002."
Yesterday, Rove appeared at a presidential library named for the husband of a certain oh-eighter, but his most supportive words went to another Little Rock hometown hero, NBC's Carrie Dann observes. Asked to handicap the 2008 contenders, Rove was optimistic about the future for Republican Mike Huckabee, saying that the former Arkansas governor's good-natured personality will earn him "a lot of attention." When questioned about Sen. Barack Obama, Rove included "articulate" as one in a laundry list of complimentary adjectives, but he argued that Obama's perceived inexperience will prompt voters to question whether he can "live up to the standards" of the Oval Office.
Per the Boston Herald, a group of Massachusetts Republicans are on the attack against their former governor. A new 527 called the Massachusetts Republicans for Truth "will post 'The Romney Report' on its website on Monday, vowing to expose his flip-flops on a host of key issues, from abortion to taxes to gay rights… Romney aides have dismissed criticism from the hometown crowd, saying his message is resonating with voters nationwide."
The Miami Herald looks at the fractions within the field over immigration and says Romney "is wooing the party's conservative audiences with the hardest-line immigration stance of any major contender," and that "[h]is appeal among Hispanics in the nation's biggest battleground state faces its first big test tonight, when he addresses the Miami-Dade Republican Party, and Saturday, when he meets privately with Cuban-American leaders in Miami."
McCain is in Charlotte, where his campaign says he'll make an announcement. Tomorrow he appears in South Carolina and Tennessee, and on Sunday he heads to Sacramento. Sen. Sam Brownback campaigns in Iowa tomorrow.
