The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Rudy on Larry King Live

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Not that it should come as a surprise to readers of this blog, but on Larry King Live last night Rudy Giuliani uttered the words, "Yes, I'm running." The interview mainly focused on his views on Iraq and social issues. He reiterated that, looking back on it, he still would have removed Saddam, though he said, in hindsight, he would have sent in more troops, would not have disbanded the army, nor pursued debathification. But to his credit, he acknowledged that hindsight is 20/20 and didn't take the bait when King tried to goad him into assigning blame.

From the transcript:

GIULIANI:...This is all -- you know, this is all Monday morning quarterbacking, but you Monday morning quarterback in order to play the next game better, right? Monday morning quarterbacks who just want to criticize is cheap stuff. Monday morning quarterbacking so that next Saturday or Sunday you can play better is absolutely right...

KING: So are you -- are you -- who do you blame?

GIULIANI: So you learn from these things.

KING: Do you blame Rumsfeld?

GIULIANI: No, I don't blame anybody.

KING: You don't blame any -- somebody's got to...

GIULIANI: No, no, no. You don't do it that way.

KING: Nobody's to blame?

GIULIANI: You don't do it that way. That's why you don't make progress. Just like I don't blame people for not figuring out September 11 before it happened. What I do is, I kind of look at what happened, so you learn for the future.

On non-binding resolutions (video here):

GIULIANI: ...The nonbinding resolution thing gets me more than are you for it or against it. I have tremendous respect for the people who feel that we either made a mistake going to war, who voted against the war, who now have come to the conclusion, changed their minds, they have every right to that, that it's wrong, you should, in a dynamic situation, keep questioning. What I don't like is the idea of a nonbinding resolution.

KING: Because?

GIULIANI: Because there's no decision.

KING: But it's a statement.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that's what you do. That's what Tim Russert does and that's what Rush Limbaugh does. That's what you guys do, you make comments. We pay them to make decisions, not just to make comments. We pay them to decide.

topics:
Iraq