Gothamist: Giuliani Says Palin is More Qualified Than Obama

retiredvj

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:30:07 -0500

I am not sure where my Giuliani is coming from. He was a mayor of a city that experienced the greatest tragedy in this century. He became a celebrity at the expense of those who died on his watch. He now calls himself an expert in the security field. No wonder he is a Republican because they too call themselves experts in terrorism prevention. During their watch more Americans have been killed and maimed than at the World Trade Center. The man responsible has never been located and his name has not been named for quite some time, why? Words that express no end in sight are simply unacceptable and Mr. McCain seems to have no viable or visible plan for the final act. And if Mr. Giuliani supports that agenda then he too must exit the elusiveness of his persona. I support my troops but not the political agenda that has placed them in harms way. I cry for the unfortunate souls who have lost the opportunity to ever hold their family one last time before their deaths. The war on terrorism is like the war on drugs or crime: a victory will never be realized. Did the terrorist program it this way? Is this what they expected? Chaos within ourselves. Americans who want to follow the same political agenda for another fours year must be blind or deaf or both. I have previously voted the Republican ticket but I could not, in good conscious, vote the same way again. I love my country but I do not have to love the incompetent decision makers. Victor Johnston

Anna_Merkin

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:40:34 -0500

Why is anyone comparing Palin to Obama? Is she running for President? Shouldn't we be comparing Palin to Biden and McCain to Obama? I smell a false dichotomy.

McGG

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:35:51 -0500

""Palin ran a city for 6 years and a state for 2 years. Obama ... well, you know."" Ran a city, really?!?! My apartment building has more people living in it than her "city".

NannyState

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:28:44 -0500

Alaska also borders Canada. She's practically Dag Hamarskjold.

piknyc

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:42:43 -0500

Are people using the "Alaska borders Russia hence she has foreign policy experience" as a joke or a real talking point? I keep hearing that and I laugh but I think people aren't joking when they say it. I'm so confused.

verbalchameleon

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:18:39 -0500

Apparently only a month ago, Sarah Palin asked, on CNBC, "What does the Vice President do, anyway?" Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUHRv3ipLE via The Daily Show. If she doesn't even know what the VP's job is, or does not deem it important (as the video implies), this tells me she's not more qualified than Obama. Not by a long shot.

Pull My Finger

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:52:54 -0500

Giuliani the best Moyor this city ever had.

NannyState

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:22:29 -0500

Rudy at age 92: "Mumble mumble mumble 9-11, mumble mumble, drool, mumble."

unregistered_wiseguy

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:01:23 -0500

Palin ran a city for 6 years and a state for 2 years. Obama ... well, you know. So Rudy says 8 years of executive experience are greater than 0 years of executive experience? What are you going to tell us next, Rudy? That water is wet?

jpeditor

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:32:55 -0500

"she can't even manage her family's abstinence policy." Lets see, Barack Hussein Obama's father was married to someone else when he married Barack Hussein Obama's mother (who was pregnant when they "married"... What would Obama do? "if they make a mistake, I don't want them PUNISHED with a baby..." So Obama would make his daughter have an abortion.

The Man Bat

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:51:15 -0500

Fuck you Giuliani. Fuck You. Fuck You. Fuck you. Yes, we feel THAT strongly about you, fascist prick.

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:47:27 -0500

The crime rate was already on the decline before Giuliani took office. http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_not-quite_truth_about_nyc.html True, he did many things to help the city including putting more cops on the street and targeting high-crime areas (actually, Bill Bratton was responsible for that but the widely held consensus is that he got pushed out because Giuliani thought he was getting too much credit.) Further, he failed to do anything substantial about police abuses against citizens (e.g., Abner Louima.) Recall that he basically dismissed the findings of the task force that he appointed to assess the incident. Moreover, the improvements in NYC had just as much to do with a swelling economy as they did with specific measures that Giuliani implemented. Yes, some of his work helped but to proclaim him as some sort of conservative turnaround artist is to overstate the matter greatly.

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:47:27 -0500

MMM510

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:43:54 -0500

He (Ayatolla Guilianni) didn't clean up the city - he just made stuff move around ... all the sex shops and tatoo parlors didn't leave the city ... they just moved from his Disney world of 42nd St to the west village and are now ensconsed there. He didn't do anything special over 9/11 either other than show up for photo ops and press coverage ...

MidCFrank

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:41:35 -0500

I don't know why everyone thinks Gooliani was such a hero on 9/11 -- all he did was give a few press conferences. Insiders I know say he was an hysterical wreck -- it was Pataki who forced him to get up in front of the cameras and deal with it. If you think back, Pataki was standing behind him in every press conference. (not a Pataki fan here, BTW)

Mr Mel

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:58:25 -0500

Say what you want, but he did clean up the city. Remember the squeegee men and our inability to walk down midtown streets at night because of the muggers. He was out of control sometimes, but the quality of life did improve.

Roxanne

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:37:17 -0500

This from a man who couldn't even win in his own state as the republican candidate for president and recommend Former police commission Berik to head homeland security. Not even his own children voted for whoilliani.

virgil

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:58:31 -0500

Guiliani was inspiring and effective during 9/11, and deserves credit for that. The rest of the time, he was a good mayor only if you were white and middle or upper class, and made sure not to ever criticize him. Typical politician, in other words. But I get awfully tired of people giving him credit for the drop in crime and the boom economy which was sweeping the entire nation during his tenure. Most other cities managed to improve their quality of life without cynically playing the police force against the poorer and darker citizens. Also, this talking point about Palin having more experience is ludicrous, but don't underestimate her. She may not have been vetted by McCain, but you can be damned sure she was vetted by the conservative movement. My hope is that her ethics problems will prove to have some substance, as seems likely.

west side Michael

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:44:45 -0500

so what did anybody expect to hear from this egoist? He made 22 million dollars off of 9-11-01 I guess that says he knows how to exploit something for his own pocketbook.Have another trip to the confessional Rudy,even though it was not kosher to do so. Watalaff.

dm10003

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:42:28 -0500

part of me thinks he never believed he could win the presidency (he just mostly hung around florida, remember?). he acted to please some supporters but mostly wanted to up his speech and security prestige.

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:32:35 -0500

"yours is a thin overview -- you probably didn't/don't live in NYC." Wrong. Born and raised in Astoria. Been here over 40 years. Rudy turned the city around by applying the simple conservative principle of enforcing the law and punishing criminals. I also admired that he refused to kiss Al Sharpton's fat ass. True, he could be petty and vindictive at times but you have to be a bit of a bastard to run this city. Well worth it for the drop in crime and economic revival that came with it. I assume you are a beneficiary of those as well.

MFer

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:22:20 -0500

The Laughingstock of America speaks!

mouse6805

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:16:20 -0500

Giuliani's just bitter over his own lackluster bid for the presidency. I had a lot more respect for that guy before he ran. He's just plain old mudslinging.

chiefeditor

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:54:30 -0500

I understand supporting the party and everything, but damn. Audio from the interview is up here.

gibson3

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:47:52 -0500

Moron.

Think twice

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:21:00 -0500

Fame whore.

ANGRYGOD11

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:59:53 -0500

American history shows governors sometimes make great presidents (FDR,Clinton, Reagan, Thomas Jefferson, etc.)and sometimes they don't (George W. Bush- worst example). Truman, Lincoln and Nixon were never governors. It's not the ultimate leadership test. Alaska isn't a good test case. It's a very Republican state and lacks the partisan politics we find in Washington, Albany, Trenton, etc.

dm10003

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:52:42 -0500

"Sure Rudy, we all understand. THAT'S LEADERSHIP!" "Regardless of his other faults, what Giuliani displayed on 9-11 and the following days was indeed leadership. The US was attacked and the whole world was looking to the Mayor of NYC, not the President of the US or some general with a chest full of medals. That's quite something." yours is a thin overview -- you probably didn't/don't live in NYC. He was brilliant 25% of the time and 75% of the time he destroyed goodwill, and his own progress, and persued enemies. he rode nyc's tech econ bubble. i'll leave his marriages and mob father alone. you were impressed with his time on the 9/11 streets (as was i, he behaved!) -- he had to because his flattened emergency hq was foolishly at ground zero. his police chief got on time magazine's cover so he fired him out of jealousy. shall i go on? : )

ANGRYGOD11

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:44:30 -0500

George W. Bush had years of executive experience as the Governor of Texas. That should clear things up.

Pull My Finger

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:42:55 -0500

Obama could not manage a news stand.

Polemicist

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:39:01 -0500

I can't believe people on this site are actually arguing that Obama's "successful" campaign is de facto evidence of his executive prowess.

robingee

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:36:30 -0500

Well, what do we expect Rudy to say... of course he's going to find some cockamamie reason to support Palin; he's got no choice.

dm10003

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:32:26 -0500

Why is no one addressing the major issue for Giuliani's convention appearance; Balenciaga or Lane Bryant???

dooWOP

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:28:22 -0500

It's just downright pathetic that Mccain allows this parasite to cling on to his campaign. Apparently, Giuliani is still seen as an "expert" on national security by the Repubicans. I tell you, this guy is the biggest con-man ever in American politics....!

Anna_Merkin

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:04:32 -0500

Has any critic of Obama's "executive experience" missed the story about his groundbreaking campaign that managed to go from being an underdog with limited funding (can we say, "start up?") to being described as a "juggernaut" and effectively dispatching a more moneyed and connected front-runner candidate? I mean, there are two major campaigns that ran out of money along the way... So yes, let's talk about executive experience. Also, one should not trivialize the work done by community organizers. They are often the stop gap between the citizens of lower-income areas and the ineffective political power structure.

NannyState

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:04:20 -0500

All that slit ever talks about is her being a "Hockey Mom". Well, she obviously failed to show her underage daughter how to "stop a puck". And her "executive experience" up there in Seward's Icebox is making sure drunken cabin dwellers heed the caribou crossing signs. And this could become president? Anything else these Republicans have up their sleeve for their little magic act? A fundamentalist Christian that doesn't accept money? A no-bid defense contractor that donates its profits to charity? Any Hillary supporter that votes for this joke is used up Palm County trash.

blablanyc

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:49:50 -0500

Giuliani is sort of right. I can't believe I can agree with him even a little bit.

Roquentin

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:29:22 -0500

He's just bitter he blew all that loot on trying to win the nomination and didn't take a single state. It's the 3.6 millions he pissed away and has nothing to show for talking. Palin is a joke. McCain chose her in a crass, phony ploy to get the disenfranchised Clinton voters.

breaknight

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:52:14 -0500

Newflash: Giuliani is a an idiot.

Kojak

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:43:12 -0500

"Alaska also borders Russian territory and is a militarily strategic state." Yes because Palin and the Alaskan National Guard are the only things standing in the way of Russian North American conquest. Shes doing us a vital service. Considering Alaska is the 47th most populous state in the Union, I would argue that running Alaska is not as complex as running say, the entire US of A, even if it is the largest state.

westernqueensland

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:37:03 -0500

Balancing a budget? In the Petroleum people's republic of ALASKA? They have so few people there and get so much lucre from oil that they give $ away. Further, in spite of the ca-ching up there they had their hands out for a bridge to no-where (which Palin kiboshed after publicity). An Alderman in Chicago, or state senator in Illinois probably represent more people than the governor of Alaska.

S.D.

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:36:08 -0500

"Alaska also borders Russian territory and is a militarily strategic state." Yeah! She's the first line of defense screaming: "The Russians are coming!!" "The Russians are coming!!" "The Russians are coming!!"

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:26:53 -0500

"As a mayor of a tiny community in AK, I guarantee she NEVER did those things either!! " Newsflash for you: she's governor of state now. Responsibilities include balancing budgets, law enforcement, commanding National Guard etc... Alaska also borders Russian territory and is a militarily strategic state. The governor has to be in the loop on those matters. With Russia playing games again, I'd call that relevant foreign policy experience. A lot more substantial than a "community organizer" a vague title Al Capone could just as easily lay claim to.

dr zippy

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:16:09 -0500

I know executive assistants who are more qualified than Palin. You don't get to be governor of a state, even remote Alaska, without being a fairly skilled politician. If want Obama to be elected the worst thing you can do is to underestimate Palin's abilities.

moonbeam

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:08:45 -0500

WTF? This latest talking point is even more ridiculous than usual. "Executive experience"? "Administered payroll"? "Led people in crisis?" As a mayor of a tiny community in AK, I guarantee she NEVER did those things either!!

Jen S

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:06:16 -0500

I know executive assistants who are more qualified than Palin.

gobama

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:54:58 -0500

So, according to Rudy's logic, Palin is also more qualified than McCain??

kapusta

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:54:09 -0500

all rudyani did was show up for a few photo-ops at the destroyed wtc. that's not leadership, that's a scumbag politician on the make. by the way, speaking of 17-year-old pregnant girls-gone-wild in Alaska...what we have here is an out-of-control, no parental-control, "young,dumb, and full-of-cum"(this is what they say in New Jersey) female. gee, the facts are that sex education prevents this and "abstinence education", aka wasteful government spending, does not.

driftwood

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:51:51 -0500

C'mon Rudy. You're saying that about someone who said she didn't even know what the Vice President does. Sure executive policy is nice, but that doesn't magically make up for national policy experience and foreign policy experience. Especially from such a short term.

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:50:27 -0500

"If they want to be president, they probably shouldn't be." Considering all the slime being thrown at Sarah Palin and her family, is it any wonder why so few decent people want to get into politics? It seems that only a sociopath could survive in Washington.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:45:33 -0500

oh and congratulations to Sarah Palin, she's going to be a Grandmother.

Toby von Meistersinger

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:42:41 -0500

My general rule of thumb for people running for president or any other elected office: If they want to be president, they probably shouldn't be. This is how we have the choice between the Washington Insider and the Chicago Politician. It is sort of like the choice of which leg to get shot in. It is going to hurt, either way and regardless of the choice you are going to suffer pain. Of all the 300 million people in the US these four people are the best we could come up with for president and vice president? Right. If you think that is true, I have a bridge to sell you, cheap! We'd probably do better picking people for political office by choosing someone out of the phone book making the whole thing like jury duty. It would get rid of those like Charlie Rangel, Joe Bruno, Robert Morgenthau, every elected office holder in Cook County, Illinois, and Sharpe James who turned elected offices into their personal fifedoms.

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:42:06 -0500

"Sure Rudy, we all understand. THAT'S LEADERSHIP!" Regardless of his other faults, what Giuliani displayed on 9-11 and the following days was indeed leadership. The US was attacked and the whole world was looking to the Mayor of NYC, not the President of the US or some general with a chest full of medals. That's quite something.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:39:00 -0500

too bad you knocked up your mother. twirl that cane for me in there, will ya? should of listened to Sarah Palin's Abstinence policy.

Jerky

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:36:19 -0500

"...Goo-gah-gah-gah freedom 9/11 goo-gah goo-gah terrorism duk duk goo-gah 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11..." Sure Rudy, we all understand. THAT'S LEADERSHIP!

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:35:45 -0500

"she can't even manage her family's abstinence policy." Pity that your parents did have one.

dr zippy

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:33:23 -0500

Well, Obama has been the head of a very successful presidential campaign for the past 19 months. Along the way he has had to make all sorts of executive decisions.

JacqueMehoff

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:31:52 -0500

An apartment manager of a high rise has more executive than this Alaskan yentil bean. she can't even manage her family's abstinence policy.

ides_of_march

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:28:31 -0500

Actually, she's the only candidate of the four with any executive experience. Senators just sit around yapping all day like old washerwomen.

nomnomnom

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:27:30 -0500

"I mean, [Obama]'s never run a city, he's never run a state, he's never run a business, he's never administered a payroll, he's never led people in crisis." Cut from the quote above was Rudy saying, "Oh, by the way, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11."

S.D.

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:26:46 -0500

"a noun, and a verb and 9/11"...