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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



Giuliani continues Clinton attacks

Posted: Saturday, September 15, 2007 9:53 AM by Chuck Todd

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
ADA, Okla. -- Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani took a few questions late Friday. Giuliani on the difference between Hillary Clinton's alleged "character assassination" and his attacks against her:

"She is the one who accused someone of not telling the truth. She accused a general of doing that, a general of the Army. I am pointing out that ... that is I think very inappropriate conduct for someone who wants to be commander in chief."

"I'm not speaking about her character, I'm talking about her actions. I haven't accused her of not telling the truth. What I've said is she's engaging  in something that indicates she is willing to attack a general of the Army at a time of war. So, it would seem to me all I'm doing is pointing out her behavior, and she's the one engaging in behavior of assailing the character of a general of the Army."

"There is no one that really questions Gen. Petreaus' honesty and integrity. Some people agree with what he's achieved, some people disagree. But no one has attacked him on the grounds of lack of honesty and integrity. That is precisely what she did. I think when a presidential candidate does that, even if its Hillary Clinton, who has like a special place in the liberal media ... has to be called to task.

Giuliani was then asked to re-explain why he left Iraq Study Group: "I didn't have the time for it and I thought it was inappropriate for a presidential candidate to be part of it. And the fact is, if I had been, all of you would be asking me questions about conflict of interest, and it would have burdened that commission with a whole bunch of issues it shouldn't have."

"It seemed to me it was a mistake for me to be on it. I realized that after two months and I left."

Clinton spokesperson Phil Singer on this new round of Giuliani criticism of Clinton: "It’s sad and unfortunate that Mayor Giuliani is using disingenuous attacks to boost his falling poll numbers.  Sen. Clinton’s focus is on ending the failed Bush Iraq policy that the Mayor backs lock, stock and barrel."

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Rudy time for you to toddle off to Iraq and have a look see.
Pack your red dress and a pair of walking shoes and go entertain the troops with your latest song and dance routine. Break a leg!
Hey, Mr. G is out for her head! And with good reason!!!
This Clinton Bi!ch has and thinks she is already the President!

Lets set the record right,,, She is just as much part of all that is wrong. Needless to say ""She is just another Washington Paper Hanging S.O.B. She her left foot is goose steping and her right foot can't find a shoe to match.

Mr. G shead some more light and open the eyes of America to what these Washington Paper Hanging S.O.B's shame looks like!
as usual Rudy cannot explain his actions in a realistic account.The firefighters and first responders in N Y know what he is all about.A phoney and a braggart.He can never explain his own actions but spends his time running other people down.I would hate to see such a guy in the white house telling us of our moral and unpatriotic failings with his ho on his arm.She would be a n embarrasment as first lady.
Hey Rudy. Speaking of the truth why don't you retract your statement about the price of the MOVE ON ad. They got the same price everyone does but you failed to correct your accusations. Next for the public understanding of the support of the Iraq war, could you please identify the thirty six(36) nations and the number of troops each nation has on the ground. Being a staunch defender of the bush fiasco, I am sure you have all the facts at your disposal. You said the MOVE ON ad was incorrect. Did you go to the web site to verify their information. What about the ad equating the 9/11 attack with Iraq. Just because FOX and Cheney say there is a connection, does not make it true. Are you ready to attack Iran next. What other dictators should we remove. Cuba? China? North Korea? Paraguay?
I suggest Rudy go to Iraq just once before he says anything regarding Iraq.

You have to love this guy if you are a Democrat.
He doesn't really have any positive attributes himself so he critices Senator Clinton.
I think she has experience and will make a great President!!
rudy,who said he spent more time at ground zero than the rescuers,objects to what he calls lies?
Cripes
Sen Clinton's remarks about Gen. Petraeus's report have no value.
Jeeeez!  Hillary is NOT focused on ending the war - only spewing rhetoric about ending the war.
We need to restore honor and dignity in the White House - and that can't be done with a known adulterer like Clinton.
how can hillary clinton attack anyone,when she is married to a coward and a liar.
You go Guiliani, You said it correctly.  Hillary is a liar, that is all she has done all these years that she has been in the public eye.  If she is elected President it will not be General Petraeus, Betray us, it will be President Hillary Clinton Betrayed the whole US of A.
Hillary Clinton is the only one that had the guts to questions his honesty and integrity.    He didnt say anymore than what bush wanted him to say.   2/3 of the country knows that.   I wonder when Giuliani is going to grow up.   We all know that he hasn't made any smart moves regarding marriages.   I also want to say that he is the biggest liar running and now that people are seeing that, there is nothing he can do to help his numbers.   They will continue to fall just like he dropped all his former wifes. loudly without a backwards glance.  
  I don't know what that jerk Giuliani is fussing about.Look how well he took care of his working people  in 9/11 Not to good.Though he does want to say he was the hero.Was there not a announcementt that Bush had his two cents worth in what the general had to say.Who is using who?There is no way that
Guiliana should be Commander in Chief for anything
he is the wrong man to even think of.Just wish
luck with the people of NY.He owes them a lot.
                             Thank You
Hillary has a lot of nerve questioning a general regarding being honest when she is reckless with the truth herself.  I'll take the advice of an honorabe general who is serving his country over a goofy blonde anyday of the week.
Rudy Rudy Rudy, there you go again. No one questions the honesty and integrity of Gen Petreus except Hillary?  Try being a little more literate and do some reading and research before shooting off your mouth.  I guess you are going to attack Admiral Fallon next.
------------
In sharp contrast to the lionisation of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the U.S. Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting.

Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that",
Miss Carpetbagger continues to dig her grave. She has been economical with the truth for quite some time and it appears to be a lingering problem. Politics aside she is a distrustful person.
hopefully the country will wake up and not vote that hater of the american people! oh by the just incase you dont get it, it's hilary that hates this country and people like her.....God i hope they dont turn this counrty into a 3rd world country like it sure seems they want to do....
And, of course, we all must over look the fact that Clinton was supportive of Iraq in the first place.  I can see no way in which Giuliani is attacking Clinton's character, while I do see her attacking his.  While perhaps not the best candidate in my position, at least he is not attempting to undermine the confidence that the troops should have in their general.  I find Clinton's comments completely out of place.
Senator Clinton gives more respect to illegal aliens who are here living off of American tax dollars than an Honorable American General who was just reporting on the job he was assigned to do. Personally, I am a registered Democrat and voted against President Bush on both occasions. However, Senator Clinton's unwarranted disparagement of people and our Nation's Institutions in hopes of gaining support from far left unrealistic fringe groups, at best, makes her an opportunist with no ideas of her own and at worst portrays someone with a dangerously deficient character composition . The latter typifies a   selfish American elitist, who is not concerned with the welfare of our citizens but rather in the placating of whomever she is speaking to at any given moment. Either way, a person processing these aforementioned personality traits and character deficiencies, lacks the integrity to assume the responsibilities associated with the position of Commander and Chief.

















With the Election over a year away, the candidates will eventually numb the populace on each other supposed failings.  By November 08, what the voters will be looking at, is who will give them the most positives.
Julie there are Generals and there are Bush Generals. The Generals are the ones who resigned because they could not speak for fear of being vilified and fired from their position. They are the Generals with the stature of Schwarzkopf and I hope that the democratic administration in 09 will offer to reinstate them with a promotion. Remember this democrats if you agree and let yur congresioal delegation knw about it.
Rudy Giuliani is as phony and two faced as they come.  He's the guy, who was so greedy to make money giving speeches, that he did not show up as a member of the Iraq study commission.  This dope learned nothing from the first attack on the World Trade center in the 90's.  He refused to improve vital communication between police and firefighters after that incident.  This later was the main reason for the horrendous losses suffered by the NYFD on 9/11.  Where did Rudy place the  NYC Emergency Management Headquarters after the first attack?  The answer is the World Trade Center.  This was despite being warned that terrorists were determined to knock those buildings down.  This man was totally UNFIT to be mayor of NYC and is absolutely UNQUALIFIED to be President of the United States.  He is NOT America's Mayor!  That is a myth of the media.  The Supreme Court stuck us with the current IDIOT-IN-CHIEF in 2000.  Then Bush frightened the country into electing him in 2004.  Hopefully, the American people will NOT be fooled by the latest Republican huckster...desperately trying to persuade us that he is an authentic hero with the right solutions for America.  The only real heroes of 9/11 were the people who died on 9/11, as well as those who have since succumbed to respiratory illnesses from their recovery work at the Trade Center. For Guiliani to equate his contributions to theirs is nothing less than DISGRACEFUL.  He dishonors their memory by using the images and the story of 9/11 for his own cheap political gain.  Hopefully, the public will reject this morbid opportunism.  This demagogue cannot even get his own family to support him...except, of course, for his THIRD wife.  His son HATES him and his daughter is for Barack Obama. SO MUCH FOR FAMILY VALUES! I dare say Rudy Giuliani, who was afraid to face Hillary Clinton for the Senate in 2000 (prior to 9/11), could NOT be re-elected Mayor of NYC.  Michael Bloomberg has been a far more effective and much less controversial successor.  The hands of core-based Republican conservatives will quiver and shake, and perhaps drop off, if they have to pull the lever for the very liberal Guiliani.  He is NOT their saviour.  He is not one of them. He will not oppose abortion, gay rights and civil unions, or strict gun legislation.  The YouTube videos of him in drag will be all the rage come the general election campaign.  What will the rest of the world think?  How can the United States ever be taken seriously again if Rudy were in the White House? It just ain't gonna happen folks!!!
Ugh - Crazy Rudy is on a rant!  Wait until the "Family Values" GOP gets a look at the news clip from 2000 - his wife on the driveway of the mayoral mansion takling about his 2 extra marital affairs.  Classy!
Giuliani may not want to link himself so closely to Gen. Petraeus.  It appears that the general lied to Congress. When questioned about whether or not it mattered if a person was shot in the front or back of the head in the counting of sectarian deaths, Petraeus said that it didn’t matter, that any killing by a sectarian motive was counted. However, National Public Radio reported on 9/13/2007 that deaths by a shot to the head ARE NOT counted by the military among sectarian killings, even if they are for sectarian reasons. Thus, the number of such deaths Petraeus reported is about 50% too low, making things in Iraq much worse than he wants us to think.
Rudy is yet another in the closet gay republican male, who loves to dress up like woman....frequently. His attacks against Hillary are a joke.
Giuliani is no  worse than any of the other Republican candidates for President.  His vile attacks on the former First Lady are not unlike the those that former Senator Craig of Idaho lodged against her husband.
here are five reasons hillary will be our next president. starting with the least important and working my way up. first - she is the most qualified , second - she has already spent eight years in the white house so she knowns how things go, third - shes smart, fourth - she will have at least one very smart advisor, and fifth - shes not a republican.

nickb
So Rudy thinks that the generals who support the war, and those that don't, are all telling the truth since they are generals.  Heaven help us if this idiot is elected President.  Seems he doesn't have any more common sense than Bush.


What is the size of the  Al Qaeda  Terrorist Force  in Iraq that can not be contained with 200,000 Iraqi Security Forces that can operate with minimal Allied Support(50,000 US Troops, 5,000 Allied Troops)?

The State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), which arguably has the best track record for producing accurate intelligence assessments, last year estimated that AQI's membership was in a range of "more than 1,000." When compared with the military's estimate for the total size of the insurgency—between 20,000 and 30,000 full-time fighters—this figure puts AQI forces at around 5 percent.
When turning to the question of manpower, military officials told the New York Times in August that of the roughly 24,500 prisoners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq (nearly all of whom are Sunni), just 1,800—about 7 percent—claim allegiance to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Moreover, the composition of inmates does not support the assumption that large numbers of foreign terrorists, long believed to be the leaders and most hard-core elements of AQI, are operating inside Iraq. In August, American forces held in custody 280 foreign nationals—slightly more than 1 percent of total inmates.

What's the real number of Al Qaeda in Iraq still on the "BATTLEFIELD"? Apparently it is less than 2,000 yet we need 170,000 troops and the help of 200,000 Iraqi Security Forces for another year to keep them at bay. (Sorry continue to have SUCCESS)  Then over 50,000 US troops and over 350,000 Iraqi Security Forces will be needed for the foreseeable future.(A Decade according to General Petraeus)
Give me a break!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0710.tilghman.html
Giuliani needs to bone up on American history. Every commanding general from Washington to Grant to Eisenhower to MacArthur and on to today's brass has had not only his military prowess, but his character attacked. It's the American way. And wasn't it the French premier Clemenceau who said, "War is too important to be left to the generals."
The Democrat politicians are saying they know more about military tactics and warfare than the general. Who else in History had not listened to advice from his Generals. Wanna know??? Mostly the losers of battles. Lee at Gettysburg. Hitler many times over refused to listen to Rommel and other commanders. The real disturbing part, MoveOn.org leadership is foreign. George Soro's has no business in American Politics.  
Our armed forces represent the people of this country "The United States of America". A soldier follows orders. We must respect and support our soldiers and armed forces not criticize.
JD
Hillary Clinton CANNOT be trusted.. she has NO ethics.. and already she's taking corrupt funding from illegitimate sources.. just wait for more to come out!! Ms. Clinton CANNOT be trusted.
giuliani and clinton can't get along because they are ideologically the same, and both are pathological liars, for either of the two it's all about the power and money with complete disregard for whats best for america
Rudy the red nosed liar...you righties will never vote for either rudy or hillary so shaddup already...Rudy don''t hate gays and blacks enough for the typical rep primary voter and hillary is married to the man who corrupted their young daughters and made oral sex fiends out of them with his behavior...well thats what they say anyway
Rudy time for you to toddle off to Iraq and have a look see.

And see that we are winning, just as General Petraeus said we were.  Rudy will clinch the deal in Iraq when he is President.
muah ha ha ha ha ha.....Hilary isn't married to shrubbie, Laura is........
MON HHEERD RYE NY
No one is WINNING, WE LOST! Hey MON Gen Betray Us the
mouth piece for the WORST PRESIDENT EVER!

Do you know what the frigging deal is in IRAQ??

Do you know about all the dead Americans and all the WASTED money?

PLEASE tell us how great we are doing "WINNING" give me some PROOF.
GIVE me some plan, a strategy, a glimpse of reason for why we are there?


Tell me how many years, how many dead AMERICANS THIS STUPID BUSHCO CAUSED IS WORTH ALL THE DEATHS?

You go take a looksee too, go die for this fiasco!
"...how can hillary clinton attack anyone,when she is married to a coward and a liar.
janie bowlin ragland,al (Sent Saturday, September 15, 2007 1:51 PM)....."

Well janie dear, Bush and Cheney were just so "brave" during Vietnam, weren't they?
Bush was awol most of the time from his Che'-Che' Fu'-Fu' Air National Guard unit, and Cheney's war record is 5 deferments and 2 DWI's.
.....and let's not even mention their "honesty"...."WMD in Iraq, yellowcake, we're gonna' be attacked in 45 minutes, etc. etc. etc" (and let's not forget the infamous "Mission Accomplished" speach either!)
Hillary is not the most experienced candidate in the field Nick B.  That title goes to Joe Biden who has more hands on expertise in International Diplomacy (Salt II Arms Treaty, Bosnia peace agreement 95)than any of the other candidates.
Not that I am a big Hillary fan, but what I would like to know is what gives Rudy Giuliani the right to make comments about anyone's behavior or integrity.  This man is in no position to flap his trap, particularly when it comes to integrity.  Does he even know what the word means?  Geeeezzz...
Biden '08!  
 General's telling the truth...does that include 4 star General Colin Powell, when he testified before the United Nations about weapons of mass destruction?
So Rudy what is your plan? (About anything)  All we hear from you is what a hero (you think) you are after 9/11. And then it's just blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah......................
TO Cris angelini New York, NY

Cris you read my mind.  She has to be one of the least trustworthy people in the world.  I find her pathetic, and GOD help us if she does become president.

I am not a big fan of any of the politicians right now, but for those of you who commented about Bush during Vietnam, but if I recall correctly Clinton was no better, wasnt that the time he took off to Oxford to "study", which great for him, but conveniently he avoided going too...
Somehow I feel that if General Patraeus's career depended upon Hillary Clinton's not criticizing him, the country would not be a safer place.

Chances are that General Patraeus can withstand the tarnished image of criticism, and we already know that Hillary can. But can Guliani?

There is every likelihood that Guliani speaks from a need for status dignity and respect that he is projecting upon Petraeus. It's likely they don't really share the same shoes, and as a General, Petraeus is probably used to criticism and can "take it." He managed to make it to General, right? That rather proves he can take criticism, and survive.


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