"Tough"

Greg Sargent is obviously confused. "Tough" questioning isn't when you examine a public figure's claims for factual accuracy, it's when you examine them for consistency. So if Rudy Giuliani says Bernard Kerik was a good choice to lead the NYPD, it'd be "tough" to toss up on the screen some years-old statement in which Rudy said something that was different. Asking whether or not the things he's saying are true isn't what toughness is about.

Comments

IRONY ALERT

Posted by tweez | November 18, 2007 3:59 PM

Asking whether or not the things he's saying are isn't what toughness is about.

Are what? True, right? Or am I misreading the sentence?

Posted by James Gary | November 18, 2007 4:16 PM

I wonder how many of your readers in the media will find themselves nodding their heads.

Posted by d | November 18, 2007 4:45 PM

I don't think asking for consistency from public figures is excessive, but it's not a virtue. Bill Kristol is one of the most consistent voices in the public sphere right now, but that doesn't mean that he's right, or that he should be taken as anything other than a crank who is a part of a movement that always takes care of its own with jobs and publicity--until one steps off the ideological reservation, of course.

Posted by Lev | November 18, 2007 4:50 PM

The real questions for Rudy is:

When did you become aware of the allegations that Kerik had accepted bribes to try to get a Mob-related firm approved for City contracts?

If you were not aware of that at the time you advised Bush to nominate Kerik to be Sec. of Homeland Defense, why did you ignore statements from City investigators to precisely that effect?

If you were aware of the allegations that Kerik had accepted bribes to try to get a Mob-related firm approved for City contracts at the time you recommended him to Bush to be Sec. of Homeland Security, did you make Bush aware of those allegations?

Posted by Ephus | November 18, 2007 5:07 PM

Or..."What value did Mexico City receive for the millions billed by you and your pal Bernie for 'consulting' on things like removing graffiti?"

Posted by Robert Powell | November 19, 2007 3:29 AM

snore

tomato/tomahto

quibble, quibble, while rome burns

Posted by twirling fartknocker | November 26, 2007 4:32 PM