Memo to Rudy: Hey, I thought of it first
Michael Hirsh, who thinks Giuliani is suspect for cozying up too much to those nasty, unpopular neocons, offers an interesting quote in his recent Newsweek piece [emphasis mine]:
[Giuliani]’s positioning himself as the neo-neocon,” jokes Richard Holbrooke, a top foreign-policy adviser to Hillary Clinton.
I beg to differ. He’s not positioning himself as the neo-neocon. He’s positioning himself as a neo-neocon.
Actually, I’m not sure what’s so “neo” about Rudy’s neoconism. He’s always been fairly hawkish on foreign policy, as far as I know.
As Hirsh himself points out, Giuliani snubbed Arafat way back in the 90s. He also was less than exquisitely polite to Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who offered a post-9/11 donation of ten million dollars to New York but added that the US needed to rethink its Palestinian policies and its support of Israel. As a result, Giuliani told him to stuff his money:’
“To suggest that there’s a justification for [the terrorist attacks] only invites this happening in the future,” he said. “It is highly irresponsible and very, very dangerous.
“And one of the reasons I think this happened is because people were engaged in moral equivalency in not understanding the difference between liberal democracies like the United States, like Israel, and terrorist states and those who condone terrorism.
Now I’ve got another question: if Richard Holbrooke defines Giuliani as the neo-neocon, what’s Hillary, Holbrook’s foreign policy advisee? The ex-neo-neocon?
[Hat tip on the Holbrooke quote to commenter
Americanneocon.]
Hillary is the “every-type-of-con.”
The Alwaleed rejection took stones. It is what makes me think that Rudy gets it, and why I think he should be the next President.
I’ll vote for Rudy over any Democrite [sic] currently running…but I hope someone else gets the nomination.
Hillary’s like a shape shifter. I am not sure what the treatment options are for such states of metamorphosis, as she often exhibits.
In each of his appearances and statements, Rudy seems completely rational, very capable and comprehensible. There is little or no waffles to his positions and he is direct. It is a shame Mr. Thompson seems so off his game and always working the edges. Mr Romney has too many issues to deal with and there are real questions about his wide political shifts. No matter who is selected, it will be a very rough political season for the Republican Party from the top of the ticket down, especially given the many retirements. With a superb top of the ticket that Rudy can bring, the picture may not be so gloomy especially if Ms Clinton does get the nomionation. I suspect that will be the only real hope for the Republicans. Her neagatives are just so overpowering that they will be very difficult to overcome.