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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Rudy blasts Hillary over Petraeus

Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 5:12 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
Giuliani today blasted MoveOn.org and others for questioning Gen. Petraeus' report, and he specifically went after Clinton -- part of his strategy to appeal to primary voters as a 50-state general election candidate.

He singled out the New York senator, saying he didn't understand her assertion that accepting the general's report meant suspending disbelief. "I don't even know what it means," Giuliani said of her comments, after tasting ice cream at a candy shop outside Pittsburgh. "It sounds like we shouldn't believe him. I don't believe she has any right to question his integrity."

Giuliani said he did believe Petraeus, but even if he didn't, he believed the general was due more respect. However, h said he did not watch the hearings yesterday because of the 9/11 commemorations.

Giuliani also attacked Obama's remarks today on Iraq, questioning the policy of a timetable for ending a war. "When in the history of war had an army ever given its enemy a timetable of retreat?"

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GOD HELP OUR COUNTRY IF THE DEMOCRATS GET TO CONTROL THE WHITE HOUSE AND BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS...IT WILL BE A VERY SAD DAY FOR THIS COUNTRY.... NO ONE PARTY SHOULD HAVE CONTROL OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY...
I JUST HOPE IF IT HEAVEN FORBID HAPPENS...WE CAN SURVIVE THE 4 YEARS
THOMAS AUSTIN

YOU ARE MY HERO
Rudy,

General Petraeus is a big boy and can take Sen. Clinton's comments.  If he can't, why is he in the position he is in?  She wasn't questionning his integrity, only whether his testimony was truly independent of the "commander-in-chief".  The Petraeus and Crocker "dog and pony show" was hardly convincing.

"When in the history of war had an army ever given its enemy a timetable of retreat?"

I thought that is what Petraeus did in announcing the 30,000 or so reduction by mid-2008, the first step in a U.S. withdrawal.  If the GOP is in as much political trouble in mid-2008 as they are now, the withdrawal will continue regardless of conditions on the ground.
The answer to Giuliani's question of "When in the history of war had an army ever given its enemy a timetable of retreat?" is, when the war is a mistake in the first place! No weapons of mass distruction and no links to the terrorist attacks of september 11th. Going into a war on using 9/11 as a platform to drum up suppport on false pretenses, spending BILLIONS of tax payer dollars that could have been used for healthcare or the for problems in America that we now say "We don't have the money".
I am tired of the polititions and the blowhards that can only say "It's Hillory/Bill Clintons fault". You don't have anything left than that?
If the country was a company and George W. was the CEO, would he still have a job according to his approval ratings. Our CEO has failed us.
RAFAEL-TUCSON AZ

You said it exactly...I live in Jersey, and from my home, a day didnt go by where I didnt see the smoke cloud, from my vantage point at my job on that horrific day, we saw the 2nd plane hit, and watched that huge dust cloud form, unable to conceive the possibility even knowing the truth that the towers had fallen.  
Rudy who,a former mayor who gave green light to NYPD
to shoot black newyorkers,a cross dresser,a man who left his family to live with...I enjoy seing him,wearing woman clothes,what a ugly trans...
Once again RG can't say anything in public without mentioning 9/11.
to Jeff at Camp Pendleton,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SACRIFICE. You are a truly what will make our country survive.  I am sorry for all you and your fellow soldiers and families have sacrificed to keep us safe. I know I am only one person but hopefully not the only one who feels this way. GOD bless and watch over all our soldiers who stand for our freedom and safety.
PLEASE IN THE HORRORS YOU HAVE TO FACE NEVER FORGET THERE ARE THOSE OF US WHO APPRECIATE AND ADMIRE ALL YOU STAND FOR.
".....GOD HELP OUR COUNTRY IF THE DEMOCRATS GET TO CONTROL THE WHITE HOUSE AND BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS...IT WILL BE A VERY SAD DAY FOR THIS COUNTRY.... NO ONE PARTY SHOULD HAVE CONTROL OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY...
I JUST HOPE IF IT HEAVEN FORBID HAPPENS...WE CAN SURVIVE THE 4 YEARS
CONCERNED IN NJ (Sent Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:34 AM)....."

*** Hey concerned; I don't know what country YOU been living in for the last 7 years.
God help us if the Democrats DON'T win it all next year!!!! ****
"On the other hand, Hilary has some pretty dark secrets in her past, including the radical groups she belonged to that committed at least one murder (Oakland School Administrator)." Some jerk here calls the author of this bullshit their, "hero".


Some crazy sumbitches over here, huh? No evidence that she kills babies and drinks their blood?

This is the same stripe of excrement that tries to paint Obama as a Muslim agent, waiting to take over the country for the Jihadists, and has as much merit, meaning less than none. Stuff like this is kind of a litmus test for nut case city.

Hillary Clinton's Past


Published: November 10, 1996

To the Editor:

I have one quibble with James B. Stewart's otherwise excellent review of ''The Seduction of Hillary Rodham,'' by David Brock (Oct. 13).

Mr. Stewart writes: ''In her early years Mr. Brock uncovers numerous ties to left-wing, even Communist causes that will no doubt prove grist for the conservative mill.'' What I found, in a close reading of Mr. Brock's book for a joint television appearance from which he subsequently withdrew, was a series of unproven McCarthyite insinuations through which Mr. Brock attempts to bestow upon the First Lady leftist credentials that she has (unfortunately) failed to earn.

Speaking of Mrs. Clinton's tenure on the New World Foundation, Mr. Brock notes that the fund supported the Institute for Policy Studies, which ''had ties to the Communist movement.'' Just what do the words ''had ties to'' mean in this sentence? Ronald Reagan ''had ties to the Communist movement.'' Indeed, he met with its leader on a regular basis. If Mr. Brock has proof that the institute acted in any way unpatriotically, he should produce it. (By the way, where is the evidence that Mrs. Clinton in any way participated in New World's laudable decision to finance the institute?)

Similarly, four pages later, Mr. Brock notes that Mrs. Clinton's friend and ally Marian Wright Edelman ''was a member of the board of SANE/ Freeze, a leading disarmament group, and she has been affiliated with the Washington School, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.'' Again, what does the word ''affiliated'' mean here? My guess is that Mrs. Edelman gave a talk at the school, as many liberals and conservatives have done in the past. What's his point? And what's wrong with SANE/ Freeze? And what does all this have to do with Mrs. Clinton?

Mr. Brock has managed to produce a book that is not even up to the quality of his previous one, in which he referred to Anita Hill as ''a bit nutty and a bit slutty.'' Quite an achievement, that.

Eric Alterman
New York"

Anyone who buys into bullshit like Hillary being a commie plant, or Obama being, "The Manchurian Candidate", of the jihadists, is a nutcase who shouldn't be allowed near anything sharp. Too bad keyboards aren't sharp.

We Americans were once loved across the world. Bush and other arrogant silver-spooned repubs have made us look like idiots to any reasonably thinking person. I have never been so ashamed to be an American. If you would study history you would see that we have incited all our problems with mideast because of our dependence on oil and our desire to get them to worship our God (the Almighty dollar). The bottom line is this...if we would leave them alone they will leave us alone. If we continue this stupidity we will be engaged in a war of hate with muslims much like that of the jews and palestinians. It will carry on for generations and many, many people on both sides will die and hate will keep on perpetuating like a gene being passed on from parent to child until the hate is so strong that the conflict will never end. History has taught that the mideast can hold a grudge for a very long time. Lets find another way to end this because the current plan was considerably flawed from the get go. Education not annihilation!
joe toms river nj: Education and progressive thinking are everything. Many in this country haven't a clue about anything. And because of that, they end up being racists and don't even realize it. I run across this every single day.

Great post. Thank you.
"...Ha Ha Ha
I find it funny that the above comments are just a tad left-leaning.
I love it, you are so scared!
She has NO chance against Rudy. ....."

Look again, Will, sc.
If the election were held today, Hillary would beat "Gigolo Rudy 'G'" head to head.
Sorry.....
George....you know how it is bro'.
This is the same typically republiCANT crappola we hear every 4 years.
"Al Gore had a body guard in Vietnam; John Kerry wounded himself; Hillary did this, Hillary did that,... blah...blah...blah"
Never a bit of truth to any of it.
But, the right wing-nuts figure the more times they repeat the same lie, and the louder they say it....the more it will be accepted as truth.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who recognizes this stuff. If you see it too, that means other people do as well.
Accordingly, it's going to be harder for the CANTservative B.S. artists on the air, in the print media, and likewise on message boards to "sell" this kinda' stuff in '08.'
"iraq makes this country look like some fascist beast hell bent on world domination"  

If anyone missed my initial post, they should read it now and read what I have quoted above... It's a prime example. World Domination? Are we taking thier land? Are we taking ownership of Iraq? Which is the next country on our list? I suppose you'll say Iran or North Korea... You're right sir, we are out to take over the world.

Give me a break. The problem here, is that I don't actually think he believes what he says. I believe he wishes the war had never happened, I believe he hates Bush with a passion, but I think because of this he feels like he can, and should say anything  to discredit both, regardless of the small "details".

Facism? World Domination? Just because they sound good to you, doesn't mean they have a purpose in your arguments. I realize speech is free, but that doesn't mean you get to abandon responsibility and integrity.

Don't you guys ever ask yourself why Bush is still in office? It's because most Dems are like you, and are too busy shouting out garbage to tether thier arguments to reality. Too much of what is said about Bush lies with assumptions. You have made a mediocre man larger than life. A balloon of hot air, with all of you at the bottom filling it up.
Hillary Clinton is nothing but a liar and a cheat..she doesnt care about anything but her own agenda. She has a serious case of envy, and since her husbands run in the White House all she's wanted was to be president. I am all for a woman president just not her.  I think she is condescending and a liar. When she was the first lady she lied, hid papers, cheated...but amazingly that was all blown out of proportion in her words to attack her and her husband. Now she is taking money from a criminal and states that if she finds out the money this criminal raised for her from other people (who check out) she'll keep it.. One of the news people I can remember who stated Hillary is just like her husband, doesnt care where she gets the money or who she associates with as long as it benefits her.  Is this really someone we want running the country. I hope no
Pat: When,in the history of war,have we telegraphed and announced our intention to retreat from our enemies at a specific date? I will settle for one instance. McCain is correct about one thing at least. An individual who is afraid of MOVEON has no business leading this nation. An individual who places more trust in wanted fugitives from justice than serving four-star generals whose son is preparing to join in this war has no business leading this nation.
Thanks MK,MO  --  I find it amazing how many people on these blogs continue to insist that we went into Iraq because of 9/11.  I think the most notorious outrageous comment Rumsfeld ever made was right after the invasion. A reporter asked him about the many Iraqi civilians being killed and he answered "Ask me that question again when more than 3000 have died."  Clearly he was saying we were there to kill people in revenge for the 9/11 deaths and he wasn't particular about who we killed. He also made the comment that the torturing at Abu Graib was no worse than the stress he had to go through in a typical workday. He has to be one of the biggest monsters alive today.  I believe many people were glad that we were invading some country and killing people just so that we could show the world what happens if you make us mad.
Way to go Rudy – keep it up.       This is a military general who has earned the respect due him.   Hillary doesn't have to agree with his report; after all, it’s her right to speak her mind.   What is truly saddening is that she has clearly shown us HER true colors by disrespecting a member of the military in this fashion.   How much easier would it have been to have voiced her disagreements without calling a man who’s proven his loyalty to this country over and over again a liar in this way?  How much better press would she have gotten?  Couldn't she still have gotten her point(s) across?    
Amanda..You crack me up! Hillary gets more disrespect than a junk yard dog. The Gen with all his little stars and pretty colored ribbons is just so freaking wonderful.. He is a political hack with words rehearsed for the idiot in chief. He is BETRAY US.
I too call him a liar, and Crocker, and bush!
I JUST sent another check to MOVE ON!!!!
Hillary is the better person and no one OWES the general any respect!
SWIFTBOATER FOR PETRAEUS-

YOU'RE AN IDIOT
What in the world doese Rudy cheating  on his wives have to do with Hillary and Move On?
Thank you Cisco, it seems that if they can't find anything constructive to say they want to attack everyone's character.

Justin,
If you think Irag is so much better then this company,,,give me your last name and address, I'll be happy to buy your plane ticket and pay your moving expenses....


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