Team Rudy Hits Back At McCain On Kerik, Romney Piles On
Rudy Giuliani's campaign has hit back at the McCain team's criticism of Rudy's association with Bernie Kerik.
Giuliani surrogate Randy Maestro, who served as Rudy's deputy mayor and chief of staff, has responded by airing some of McCain's own dirty laundry.
"It’s no more fair to judge Rudy Giuliani on the basis of one issue than it is to judge John McCain on the Keating scandal," Maestro said in a phone interview with Jonathan Martin. The message to McCain: Back off.
The Romney camp, meanwhile, put out an e-mail that did not directly mention Giuliani or Kerik, but seemed curiously timed given its contents.
"Governor Romney believes the American people want and deserve change in Washington," wrote campaign spokesman Kevin Madden, listing some of Romney's ethics proposals. "They want strong ethics and accountability in government."
Comments (15)
Daniel wrote on November 9, 2007 3:04 PM:With scandals like this on the GOP side, no wonder Hillary Clinton has expander her lead in the latest general election poll out this morning against Rudy Giuliani. (Link).
Dan wrote on November 9, 2007 3:21 PM:"Keating scandal" - wow, that will sure hurt among the 10% of voters (all over 45) who have ANY idea what he's talking about, just like Giuliani's crack on Biden for a 20 year-old plagarism charge that nobody remembers.
Judith Fouts wrote on November 9, 2007 3:25 PM:I know you meant no harm, but please think about NOT using the "I don't have a dog in this fight" reference. Still too many dogs in fights. Thanks
Pengo wrote on November 9, 2007 3:47 PM:In fact, refrain from using any metaphors, whatsoever.
Utopia wrote on November 9, 2007 4:04 PM:"Governor Romney believes the American people want ... strong ethics and accountability in government."
Well, Duh!
U
Romney just wants his chance to avoid providing anything decent to the American people for four years.
anonymous wrote on November 9, 2007 4:28 PM:I'd raise Giuliani a Harding right back:
Village Voice, 4/10/02:
"The Daily News...point[ed] out that Harding had never finished college and had no financial background for running an agency that puts together multimillion-dollar bond deals to build city housing.
At a City Hall press conference, Giuliani was instantly defensive. It didn't matter that Harding had no experience in the field, he said. And it mattered less that his father was Ray Harding, Giuliani's chief political adviser, a man he'd publicly embraced and hailed as 'a genius' a few months earlier at his re-election victory rally.
'Russell Harding has done an excellent job for this administration,' he said. 'This new job is something that he will do I'm sure with exceptional skill and ability. I don't hire people because of their father and I don't hold anybody's father against them either.'
'What I do is,' continued the mayor, warming to his argument, 'I try to be fair and have the most talented people I can find in this administration. The reason this administration has been more successful than any administration of the last 30 or 40 years is that we have more talented people than those administrations had,' he said.
Then he threw one last jab at the press corps before him. 'I knew when I switched him to this position that you would all criticize me. But sometimes I enjoy it. Particularly when I think you're wrong and I'm right.'"
Harding subsequently pled guilty to embezzling $400,000 in the job that Giuliani confidently asserted he would do with "exceptional skill and ability."
bvd wrote on November 9, 2007 4:53 PM:Anonymous - Russell Harding not only pled guilty to embezzling $400,000 - he also pled guilty to possessing child porn! How's that for Rudy's great judgement?
McCain's relationship with Keating was scrutinized by a congressional ethics committee.
Until Guiliani's relationship with Keating undergoes similar scrutiny, he has no standing to open his prevaricating mouth.
benjoya wrote on November 10, 2007 10:48 AM:also, IIRC, mcCain didn't recommend keating to head a department of the federal government
youTube debate question:
"mayor giuliani, you have asked the public to assess your friend bernard kerik's trouble with the law in the context of his broader public service. if that's the case and mr. kerik is acquitted, would you consider appointing him to a cabinet position, perhaps head of DHS?"
and are we gonna have to wait until the general election before the MSM finds father placa, hiding in plain sight? will they even mention it then?
dkm wrote on November 10, 2007 1:56 PM:As has been mentioned, the problem that Kerik poses for Giuliani is the same that Harding did. It shows just how little Giuliani knows about running government. Rudy makes a big deal out of 9/11 and how he is the only candidate that can be trusted to protect us, but given that he recommended Kerik as the primary person in charge of national security at the DHS, it really indicates that Rudy is completely clueless about what 9/11 was all about.
Juanito Crandello wrote on November 11, 2007 7:52 PM:Giulani KNOWLINGLY "appointed a criminal to head the NYPD and wanted a corrupt cop with mob ties to be responsible for the domestic security of 300 million Americans."
Rudy-Dudy: American Traducer, America's Transvestite!
Juanito Crandello wrote on November 11, 2007 7:55 PM:And picking up where J. Edgar left off...
mcd wrote on November 12, 2007 10:48 AM:funny story;
rudy was mayor in a city with almost no republicans, he also had an extremely publicized, overzealous liberal media hound constantly biting him in the ass for every move he made. Good or bad. When he moved to mandate that people on welfare must work, they called him every name in the book.
The fact remains is that the media is very liberal and will HIGHLY romanticize anything negative about republicans.
Rudy did a lot for NYC,things that werent even fathomable, and that cannot be overlooked; his judgement cannot rest on the mistakes of one man.
