Oh-eight (R)
Posted: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:13 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans
GIULIANI: John Edwards' campaign must have been relieved yesterday to see a story by the Washington Post’s John Solomon in the Sunday paper, and it have nothing to do with their boss. Instead, Solomon turned his focus to Giuliani's post-9/11 business dealings. After September 11, “Giuliani Partners earned more than $100 million, according to a knowledgeable source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the firm's financial information is private. And that success helped transform the Republican considered the front-runner for his party's 2008 presidential nomination from a moderately well-off public servant into a globe-trotting consultant whose net worth is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars."
That article was followed by today’s New York Times piece: “Anyone who watched Rudolph W. Giuliani preside over ground zero in the days after 9/11 glimpsed elements of his strength: decisiveness, determination, self-confidence. Those qualities were also on display over the months he directed the cleanup of the collapsed World Trade Center. But today, with evidence that thousands of people who worked at ground zero have become sick, many regard Mr. Giuliani’s triumph of leadership as having come with a human cost… Administration documents and thousands of pages of legal testimony filed in a lawsuit against New York City, along with more than two dozen interviews with people involved in the events of the last four months of Mr. Giuliani’s administration, show that while the city had a safety plan for workers, it never meaningfully enforced federal requirements that those at the site wear respirators.”
It’s worth noting that more than a third of Giuliani's interview on Fox News Sunday was about abortion -- and it was the first third of the interview. Meanwhile, half of McCain's interview was on Iraq. And in the interview, he promised that he wouldn’t have a Roe litmus test when picking judges.
Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards probably didn't do Giuliani any favors by releasing a statement praising the mayor's Friday speech in Houston. From Richards' release: “It's encouraging to see that the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president supports the right to make personal private health care decisions free from government intrusion. Giuliani's principled stand disproves the old-school belief that you have to check your convictions at the Presidential primary door. Giuliani is pro-choice and at the front of the pack -- the days of the anti-choice strangle-hold on the Republican Party are numbered."
As if to put an exclamation point on Giuliani's rough week, the new issue of New York magazine includes a profile of Judith Giuliani, written by longtime gossip columnist Lloyd Grove. The profile attempts to piece together how they met: "Their displays of affection got so gooey during the taping of the Walters interview that the ABC News doyenne is said to have joked, ‘Enough already!’ They held hands and cooed; he called her ‘baby’ and she called him ‘sweetheart’ as they kissed on the lips.”
As for other actual political news for Giuliani, the Des Moines Register goes behind the scenes on the campaign’s decision-making process whether it will participate in the Ames Straw poll. Apparently his campaign advisers are pushing him to do it, but Giuliani hasn't made the final decision.
And let's not forget the weekend fundraiser -- err, "golf-raiser" -- Donald Trump threw for Giuliani in Florida over the weekend. The Donald apparently raised a cool million for the ex-mayor. Don't forget, Trump has endorsed both Rudy and Hillary.
MCCAIN: In case you missed it yesterday, you can catch John McCain’s appearance yesterday on Meet the Press here.
ROMNEY: Let's not forget Mitt Romney on "60 Minutes." While all the excerpts were out last week here's a good summation: Mike Wallace said to Romney in the interview, "Your critics say that you're the poster child for chameleon politics, that you lack core beliefs, that you'll do anything to get elected--what about that?" To which Romney replied, "You know if you look at anybody who's a political statesman, they'd better learn how to change their mind when they realize they're wrong."
The Deseret News chose to lead its report on the "60 Minutes" interview with Romney's criticism of Bush on Iraq.
F. THOMPSON: The Washington Times’ Ralph Z. Hallow has leading Christian conservatives telling him on background that they are ready to get behind Thompson's candidacy, if he gets in.
The Politico's Allen notes that on Saturday night, "Thompson was the keynote speaker at a dinner organized by the Council for National Policy, a group of many of the nation’s most influential conservative leaders." Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, a major player in the '08 GOP sweepstakes, introduced Thompson at the event, which was closed to the press.
As for an announcement date, Gannett pegs it at or around July 1. The piece also notes that Thompson is talking with staff and consultants who were with Steve Forbes in 2000, including pollster John McLaughlin.
T. THOMPSON: The former Wisconsin governor is still making excuses for his May 3 debate performance, especially the gaffe over gay employment rights. Thompson: "I've been very sick. ... I was very sick the day of the debate. I had all of the problems with the flu and bronchitis that you have, including running to the bathroom. I was just hanging on. I could not wait until the debate got off so I could go to the bathroom."
