When Republicans Attack

Good times as John McCain and Mitt Romney attack Rudy Giuliani for his Bernard Kerik associations, only to prompt Randy Mastro to strike back for Team Rudy by calling Saint McCain's sainthood into question while pretending not to: "It’s no more fair to judge Rudy Giuliani on the basis of one issue than it is to judge John McCain on the Keating scandal." But Rich Lowry has the really rough stuff from Katie Levinson on Giuliani's behalf:

Let me get this straight – first, campaign finance crusader John McCain oversees a campaign that spiraled completely out of control and went bankrupt and now he wants a questionable $3 million loan? Doesn’t quite pass the smell test, does it?

Americans need someone in the White House who knows how to balance their own checkbook before they try to balance the federal government’s. They don’t need John McCain, they need Rudy Giuliani - who has actually balanced a budget and made a payroll.

Of course it was a payroll that included his good friend and former driver, the corrupt guy who kept getting promoted to head more-and-more important agencies until Rudy vouched for the guy and got him nominated, almost vetting-free, to be homeland security secretary. Levinson concludes:

Is this what desperation looks like? Bernie Kerik’s issues have been known since 2004 and John McCain still had glowing things to say about Rudy Giuliani and his leadership. What, exactly, changed today? Best as I can tell, it’s just John McCain’s pure desperation in the face of a failing and flailing campaign trumping his so-called straight talk. It is truly a shame that John McCain has chosen to stoop this low.”

I think when you start attacking the other campaigns for showing "desperation" -- like when Hillary Clinton gets mad that John Edwards has the temerity to point out that they disagree on the merits of some issues -- it mostly shows that you don't have a good answer. Rick Davis for John McCain counter-counter attacks:

Rudy Giuliani’s history with Bernie Kerik is a story of poor judgment. After being briefed on Kerik’s ties to organized crime, Giuliani named him chief of the New York Police Department. Without any further vetting, Giuliani asked him to join his security consulting firm. Despite obvious ethical problems, Giuliani went so far as to personally recommend Kerik for the top job at the Department of Homeland Security.

A president’s judgment matters and Rudy Giuliani has repeatedly placed personal loyalty over regard for the facts.

Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and liberals everywhere are smiling.

UPDATE: Ambinder has more on the food-fight, including John McCain's mom lashing out against Mormons:

As far as the Salt Lake City thing, he's a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City had caused that scandal. And to clean that up, again, it's not a subject,'' Roberta McCain said. JohnMcCain quickly stepped in: ''The views of my mothers are not necessarily the views of mine.' ''Well, that's my view and you asked me,'' Roberta answered.

I'd actually been waiting quite some time to see an unambiguously bigoted bit of Mormom-bashing, I think we have a winner here. The idea seems to be that because Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and because the people who created the problems with the SLC Olypmpic bid are also Mormons, that Romney doesn't deserve credit for fixing things because in the Cosmic Balance of Mormonism it's all a wash. Or something.

Comments

I am waiting for the machine and the MSM to blame Bernie's travails on the Clintons. Another dastardly dirty trick by Hillary's agents in the USDA's office, the FBI and the IRS.

Posted by Alan | November 10, 2007 10:05 AM

Obviously this indictment was timed to draw attention away from Tipgate.

Posted by calling all toasters | November 10, 2007 10:22 AM

Before joining the DHS/FEMA, Michael Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association, (IAHA), from 1989-2001. After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions, Brown was forced to resign.
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Republicans really don't give a damn about being qualified to do what you're being appointed to do. Nor does appointing unqualified scammers and crooks to high positions seem to merit the scorn, and derision it deserves. "Heckuva a job Brownie!" "Heckuva job Bernie!"

Posted by steve duncan | November 10, 2007 10:25 AM

I've know some pretty sharp people past the age of ninety, but generally speaking, having one's nonagerian parent campaign on one's behalf is likely ill-advised. Even if cognitive issues have yet to come into play, there is the prospect of the aged one simply not giving a damn anymore.

Posted by Will Allen | November 10, 2007 11:38 AM

Re Matthew's comment "The idea seems to be that because Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and because the people who created the problems with the SLC Olypmpic bid are also Mormons, that Romney doesn't deserve credit for fixing things "
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Hmmm. I thought the idea on the Republican side was that Mormons are godless heretics who can't be relied on because they can't understand Christian morals.

Kinda like the Jews but without the saving grace of handing out multi-million dollar campaign donations.

Although that Mormon idea of having multiple wives has a certain appeal. Except perhaps to Newt Gingrich (on wife number 3 and in the market) and Rudi Giulani (also on wife number 3?)
Who would argue that anyone who would keep wife number 1 and wife number 2 around is too stupid to be President.

Posted by Don Williams | November 10, 2007 11:48 AM

McCain's mother is 95. Just saying. Most people ten years younger than her are dead, and on balance, she seems quite sentient.

As for Rudy, it's clear that the Kerik incident, coupled with his complete lack of foreign policy experience, should be a per se disqualification for the presidency.

Posted by Rich | November 10, 2007 11:48 AM

Republicans really don't give a damn about being qualified to do what you're being appointed to do. Nor does appointing unqualified scammers and crooks to high positions seem to merit the scorn, and derision it deserves. "Heckuva a job Brownie!" "Heckuva job Bernie!"
Posted by steve duncan

Riiiighttt, Duncan! Just ignore Slick Johnnie Edwards trial lawyer ties and the Corporatist Hillary! that would do Dubya proud.

It's all a Republican problem, as the Clinton Administration with it's "Friends of Bill", Lincoln bedroom sale, various Chinese ducking in and out of the picture, pardons for pay, play for pay, Travelgate - showed the Clintons had a certain fondness for cronyism and corruption.

Right now, the cleanest candidates appear to be Obama, Ron Paul, McCain, Kuchinich, and Mitt Romney.

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AS for "Brownie", as time passes, it looks like he was a guy who had done a great job with FEMA in storms, floods and fires where he worked with competent state people. (3 Florida hurricanes, Minnesota floods, 2004 California fires, 2003 Colorado fires.) The media, Bush-hating, spun a narrative that it was all "Bush/Brownie's incompetence" - but hindsight shows FEMA simply was overwhelmed by Louisiana incompetence.
Blanco, Nagin & his piss-poor city cops and officials.

Most importantly, everyone recognizes the main fault is with creation of a parasitic welfare underclass in NOLA that became 100% dependent on the government from everything from babysitting, fresh diapers, to free transportation....that was too stupid, dependent and lazy to do almost anything other than complain and loot. And conditioned not to be self-reliant, moral, and to blame others for their poor choices.

That they re-elected Nagin says everything about them.

Same story elsewhere when Jamaica, Virgin Islands were hit by hurricanes - people with just a veneer of civilization revert to barbarism. Whereas when earthquakes, hurricanes, tsumanis, fires, floods hit civilized peoples, even in the 3rd World and with no "Fed Government" to save them in 24 hours, people behave and help themselves. The Japanese Kobe earthquake was 7 days before meaningful Fed help arrived in the Prefecture - people were already set up by their own efforts to get shelter and distribute what food they could find - not a single case of looting. In Mumbai India, the Feds never arrived at all as the city, with 20 times the people of NOLA, was flooded by 6-10 feet of water and thousands died. Despite that, the people of Mumbai fended for themselves in a great, proud moment of Bengali collective competence and social resiliance...with only 6 cases of looting or violence. 5 car radios stolen counting as "looting".

Posted by Chris Ford | November 10, 2007 12:00 PM

"the people of Mumbai fended for themselves in a great, proud moment of Bengali collective competence and social resiliance."

The people of Mumbai, a/k/a Bombay, are mostly not Bengalis. Bengal is on the other side of India. Let the readers draw their own conclusions about Mr. Ford's other assertions of "fact."

Posted by Henderstock | November 10, 2007 1:01 PM

McCain's stated point for having his Mom on the campaign trail and making sense shows that he is not too old for the job. This whole message gets thrown off if she in fact starts showing her age.

Hopefully she is enjoying the whole process. Otherwise there is something unseemly in using an aged parent as a stage prop. "See I am not too old! Look at Mom!"

Posted by Bruce Webb | November 10, 2007 1:31 PM

Henderstock - You are correct. My knowledge of Indian ethnicities are not that solid.

But the facts of the 2005 flood in Mumbai are solid. It was a pretty inspiring tale of how they all pulled together with no "vast resources" of the Indian Federal Gov't riding to the rescue. Same with how the Japanese behaved remarkably well and resourcefully in the Kobe Earthquake. Proving they were civilized people.

(Just as the US did in 200 past major hurricanes when people weren't expected to sit in piles of trash demanding Washington rush them fresh diapers, hot food, and a place to stay to plug in the new plasma TV they had just acquired. Mainly because the Feds only began supplementing the States in the 60s..)

Perhaps Americans acquited themselves much better in past disasters than in NOLA for the very reason that people then realized they were adults and had to be resonsible parents before the Big Gov't made them immoral infants..

The people of Kolkut are Bengalis..not Mumbai.

Posted by Chris Ford | November 10, 2007 2:44 PM

an unambiguously bigoted bit of Mormom-bashing

Is it a typo, or an innovative way of saying that a Mormon and a mom were bashed? You be the judge!

Posted by Neil the Ethical Werewolf | November 10, 2007 3:01 PM

After Reid was so crafty in scheduling Mukassey vote I am inclined to give fair hearing to the preposition that you cannot trust a Mormon.

The thing is that Reid was ostensibly opposing Mukassey and manouvered in his favor. Much earlier, there were manouvers to disable Democratic veto for judicial nominations with the idea that the veto would be saved for important occasion. And yet, the occasions are never important to Reid. What are his true views?

So I need another character wittness for "the Mormons".

Posted by piotr | November 10, 2007 3:15 PM

I want to know McCain's mom's views on the special Mormon under garments.

Posted by Enquirering minds | November 10, 2007 4:48 PM

Olympic site selection scandals have been going on ever since the 1984 LA Olympics proved that they could be hugely profitable (after all, you only pay the athletes in medals, not in cash). (See the book "Lords of the Rings" from the 1990s for details of pre-SLC scandals.)

Since the International Olympic Committee has a monopoly on deciding where the Olympics will be held, the members of the IOC routinely shake down cities that would like to host it. So, SLC was more the victim of IOC extortion than SLC corrupted the pure souls of the IOC.

Posted by Steve Sailer | November 10, 2007 9:23 PM

Matt - Biden is on c-span now talking about the solving the so-called social security crisis -

Posted by Comment | November 10, 2007 10:33 PM

While it might be "inspirational" enough for the Hallmark Network or Lifetime when the federal government does its job in times of crisis (see FEMA under Clinton), it is creating a system that works when people not named Bush are in power. Having a systematized apparatus that works automatically in times of crisis is a lot more reliable than hoping that the people of a certain area have the infrastructure, communications, etc. that can lead to a spontaneous community gathering.

Posted by Reality Man | November 11, 2007 2:52 AM