... you speak of, Joan. It's been pretty obvious for a number of years that GOP types are authoritarian cultists, and that all the sideshows about abortion and gay guys are just to hustle money from the hicks. Why wouldn't wingnut voters like Rudy? He hates blacks, supposedly considers the "war on terror" a latter-day crusade, will "keep us safe" by killing 'em all and letting Our Dear Lord and Personal Savior sort 'em all out, appoint more Alitos and Scalias as sure as the sun comes up ... who gives a shit about him banging his mistress under this wife's nose? A man has needs ... except if he is a Democrat, of course. How many times does the other side have to cough up a guy like George W. Bush, who would have sent Freud screaming from the room, before you press types realize the truth about these people? Read Rick Perlstein's 'Before the Storm.' Right-wingers have been all the same since the model came out: bitter, envious sociopaths deeply full of shit on almost any subject.

Giuliani couldn't stand the scrutiny that Hillary has had to endure for twenty years. The problem is that he'll never get it because the media has made it painfully clear that the Clintons get a different treatment than the other political animals out there.

Imagine on a slow news day that Hillary is caught on camera calling a prominent Republican a "fucker".On the same day Rudy is caught in flagrante delicto with an underage Hooters girl. Which story would get the most airtime?

Police Union Won't Back Giuliani's Run For President

From today's NY1 News

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=75530

I like this quote: "PBA President Pat Lynch goes as far as to say the former mayor lacks real credentials as a terrorism fighter."

Pay no attention to the former first-lady in full polling nosedive behind the curtain. Forget the planted questions and the collapsing flags (http://ugv.abcnews.go.com/player.aspx?id=1071256).

Bad Giuliani! Bad Giuliani!

Okay Joan when you go on Chris Matthews why don't you ask him why he said that Guliani can get by with being inconsistent because he is STRONG on Terror. Besides Mrs. Clinton claps too much. And you will be sure to point out that Russert will be really hard on him because he is the front runner.

Of course you won't.

WHS

It must be Hitlery then.

If memory serves, in the article General Petraeus wrote for the Washington Post a few years back about his experience training the Iraqui Army, he claimed that if it hadn't been for Kerik's expertise, whose assignment from President Bush dovetailed with that of Petraeus, the Iraqui fighting forces would not have achieved such a high level of military cohesiveness.

...Hillary has more guts and class than the cobra hissing at her that he's better than she is, because he'll massacre more Iraqis and Iranians (code for he has a penis) than she ever will.

Could little Rudy stand the scrutiny meted out to Hillary Clinton? Are you kidding. This popinjay? He's protected from all that by the Right wing media, who flatter him the same way courtiers flatter a king. He doesn't have to work for anything. He sits in his palace while his courtiers sling mud at his opponents. When your whole platform is 'elect me', I'm rich, I'm male, white, pro-war (any will do), not Hillary, is it a wonder that he has to be cosseted, portrayed as 'tough' (which, is good if you're planning on a career in wrestling but seems superfluous for the office of presidency) -- that is to say, has a penis; will kill women and children in Iraq--because this all the Republican party has going for them. This is the best they can do. Hillary has nothing to worry about. Hell, little Bo Beep would make a better candidate than Rudy. And beat him in an arm wrestle.

... the former New York mayor simply isn't telling the truth when he says he wasn't informed about Kerik's lapses

Woah! Crazy talk! Perhaps Joan Walsh should tone down her rhetoric, and re-read Gary Kamiya's article on politeness. She may as well have written that "the former New York Mayer is as usual lying through his teeth, lying like a rug, lying like his dead grandma when he says he didn't know that Bernie Kerik is as crooked as a 13 dollar bill."

Seriously, it's nice to see Giuliani's penchant for bullshit being called something a little more forceful and honest than "a misstatement" or even "misleading."

He's only endured a sliver of the scrutiny Clinton has over her two decades in national politics. We'll see how he handles the attention in the weeks to come.

It's unlikely that he ever will, unless an army of letter writers and a flock of video ad producers work continually to keep the attention of the national media on this bozo. It doesn't matter whom he runs against — he'll get a free pass if the mainstream press is permitted through inaction to give him one.

Giuliani is the opposite of Hillary. She has endured years of abuse with grace and courage. He, on the other hand, is like a schoolyard bully. He gets away with it until someone lays a hand on him. Then he goes whining to the Principal.

Is there anyone in politics who so dependably cracks under pressure? When things to badly -- as with Louima, Dorismond, down to little things like bus advertisements that gently chide him -- when someone dares criticize him -- he always reacts badly. Always. In those days after 9/11 he behaved admirably, but that's because he had universal admiration. If anyone had criticized him, his response to 9/11 would have been much, much different.

"She (Hillary) has endured years of abuse with grace and courage."

Does anyone remember the "vast right wing conspiracy" tour Mrs. Clinton went on, and more importantly, Bill let her go on? Bill had a long history of affairs and she handled the last scandal by attacking republicans who never forced Bill to get it on with the intern. What grace and courage!

Hillary has skated by, avoiding confrontation on issues and blaming someone else for her problems. (Tim Russert was unfair in asking her questions about licenses for illegals in NY,too).