Saturday, November 17, 2007

postal scrotum:
Rudy's Push to Save America

The title of this post comes from the email Sperwer sent me, which included the following image:



I'm a Rudy fan, I admit. I know this flies in the face of Skippy's hatred* of the man (a really good critique of Rudy-- one of many on Skippy's blog-- is here), but in my opinion he's got (1) a better financial sense than the current president, (2) enough common sense not to lower his guard in terms of foreign policy, and (3) far better speaking and thinking skills than the current Mr. Bush.

If I were to vote for a Dem for president, I'd much prefer Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton, even though Obama's politics are, in many ways, diametrically opposed to Giuliani's. Obama the man seems both likable and a quick learner. He also lacks the darker qualities that make me dislike Hillary's husband. As for Hillary herself, Camille Paglia sums it up nicely when she writes:

Hillary's stonewalling evasions and mercurial, soulless self-positionings have been going on since her first run for the U.S. Senate from New York, a state she had never lived in and knew virtually nothing about. The liberal Northeastern media were criminally complicit in enabling her queenlike, content-free "listening tour," where she took no hard questions and where her staff and security people (including her government-supplied Secret Service detail) staged events stocked with vetted sympathizers, and where they ensured that no protesters would ever come within camera range.

That compulsive micromanagement, ultimately emanating from Hillary herself, has come back to haunt her in her dismaying inability to field complex unscripted questions in a public forum. The presidential sweepstakes are too harsh an arena for tenderfoot novices. Hillary's much-vaunted "experience" has evidently not extended to the dynamic give-and-take of authentic debate. The mild challenges she has faced would be pitiful indeed by British standards, which favor a caustic style of witty put-downs that draw applause and gales of laughter in the House of Commons. Women had better toughen up if they aspire to be commander in chief.





*Skippy notes in a comment on this blog: "And seriously? It's not okay to like Rudy. It was four years ago, but it isn't now. I'm dead serious when I say that I'd prefer Hillary." We've never seen Hillary in an executive position (mayor, governor, etc.), which makes me wonder exactly what sort of leader she'd be. My gut tells me that Giuliani, who held the reins of NYC for two terms, has a much better understanding of the gritty, complex realities of governance. Hillary might have had an insider's view during her two terms at the White House, but she wasn't the one at the wheel, and that makes all the difference.

As for Giuliani being an unprincipled bastard... do we really expect our politicians to evince a sense of integrity that was probably lost long ago? No; I'll settle for visible signs of commitment and goal-orientation, accompanied by financial and foreign policy acumen.

I have a sinking feeling, though, that our country simply prefers presidents who speak with Southern accents. Rudy does a good Mafia boss impression, but that's not going to get him the crucial votes down in Love My Sheep, Mississippi.



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