The American Spectator

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Days of Reckoning

1.24.08 @ 12:01AM

BEYOND 9/11
Re: William Tucker's Giuliani One Note:

As a fellow New Yorker it troubles me bitterly to see how Giuliani has fallen from the top of the bunch to 4th behind Romney. Many articles have been written and discussed the reason behind it, perhaps the most acceptable theory is the fact that because he did not compete in the early states he clearly missed out on all free media coverage, even if he would have lost all states, it wouldn't have been by such huge margins, and his concession speeches would have been covered, getting him more free press.

However reading your article today "Giuliani One Note" I couldn't disagree with you more, the fact is, that Giuliani has NOT been talking to much about 9-11 in the last 6 months, yes we did talk about in the beginning but after too many backlashes (whether it was the Biden Joke, or the $9.11 house party) that is when he stopped using 9-11 as his motto.

We all remember very clearly at the debates when Giuliani continued stressing his achievements in New York, taxes and unemployment, it was then when all pundits were saying that he focuses too much on the past and too little about the future, it was then when he came up with his 10 Commandments for the future.

So looking back now, the reality is that when 9-11 WAS at the forefront and when he DID talk about 9-11 that is when Giuliani was on top of the GOP polls, and when he stopped talking about 9-11 that is when is dropped in the polls. It is clear that the reason he was on top most of last year was because his name recognition of 9-11 and his heroism of those days, and the less he talks about it the more he slips in the polls.

Of course we know that 9-11 was NOT the only reason Giuliani would make a great president, but just the opposite because he is a great leader, thus the reason he was so powerful and great on 9-11, the same qualities needed for a president is what was needed on 9-11.

As a matter of fact, I am quite upset that the Giuliani camp did not create some outside 527 committees to bombard us with images of Giuliani on 9-11, Showing the world that it ONLY Giuliani that was the voice of calm during those difficult times, Giuliani was only leader holding news conferences from Ground Zero, he was the voice of reason and strength. Just like almost every other major candidate has some outside 527 group working on their behalf, So should Giuliani have had them this should have been on TV in every state.

Of course the Giuliani camp would immediately disown and condemn those groups, and assure everyone that it does not have the blessing of the campaign, but the backers would all be strong Giuliani backers pushing the message, why wasn't this done months ago?
-- Leo Landau

Is Mr. Tucker a liberal hiding in a closet. I mean, Global warming Kyoto. Get real! You want our economy to tank for sure on pure lies and hysteria. Nuclear is the way to go. However, the reasons for Giuliani are more then 9/11 over speak. He is not a conservative on a very important prong, social issues. The 2nd prong, he is a conservative on the war and crime (except gun controls). However, there are others who fix that bill also. On the 3rd prong he is great economy (Taxes and Spending). However, he may be going down the wrong path on Health Care. Keep the Gov't out of it. They will only ruin it. Get rid of the John Edwards lawsuits and the free benefits for illegals and that will go a long way to helping Health Care.

He is wrong on abortion, Gay marriage, gun control, stem cells, judges (Originalist not constructionalist), and illegal immigration (even though he is talking tough now). And do we really trust him on judges since he has so many liberal views? This is some more reasons he has not done well with conservatives.
-- Joseph D'Ambrosia

Yeah, it gets tiring when the Mayor hangs the 9/11 neon sign around every issue he discusses on the stump. However, the author absolutely loses his conservative street cred when he pimps Giuliani to sign the Kyoto Protocol.

Mr. Tucker -- you want to start "addressing" the global swarming issue? Great! Start buying some shorts and wear a wide-brimmed hat. Slather on the SPF 45 while you're at it. Otherwise, leave us (the citizens) the hell alone. The last thing we want Mr. Tucker to do is tell us how to live our lives, how to reduce our carbon footprint, how to go nuclear, and how to "plug-in."

On top of that, Mr. Tucker doesn't know jack about the economics of the oil industry, or about economics in the general sense. We certainly don't print the dollars we use to buy the petroleum products consumed in everyday life. As far as the Constitution is concerned, only the Fed can mint legal tender.

I'm surprised TAS didn't vet this particular column more closely.
-- Owen H. Carneal
Yorktown, Virginia

For the most part, William Tucker is dead on in his analysis of the moribund Giuliani campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, but for crying out loud, Tucker loses me totally by saying Rudy (Giuliani) should announce, "I will sign the Kyoto Protocol?" Tucker admits the Global Warming movement is a fraud and, "Nobody who signed the Kyoto Protocol is doing anything about it." So why does Tucker feel the U.S. should? Is symbolism over substance, earning the friendship of other nations, worshiping on the altar of junk science, or any other altruistic impulse sufficiently compelling to ensure for the U.S. second class status in this hostile world? By destroying its capitalist infrastructure and military pre-eminence in favor of a Socialist-Globalist agenda, does Tucker feel the U.S. will regain the friendship of some nations?

Letter to the Editor

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Taxes, Health Care, John McCain, Barack Obama, Economics, Business, Earmarks, Social Security, Islam, Abortion, Global Warming, Constitution, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, NATO, Africa, Socialism, Conservatism, Immigration, Energy, Oil