Rudy Giuliani Decides to Run

The world is very different in 2007 than it was in 2001; many of us have uncovered how much the media create stories that aren't quite what they seem to be. Rudy Giuliani is running for president and there are Republicans willing to take him seriously in spite of many questions, including whether Republicans are once more falling for a public relations illusion. Here's ABC News with the story:

It's unofficially official. Rudy Giuliani says his statement of candidacy filed with the Federal Election Commission is as close as you're going to get to an official announcement that he's running for the Republican nomination.

In the last 10 days, "America's Mayor" has flown to two of the key primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Now he's filed the legal paperwork so he can continue to build a campaign.

On Fox's "Hannity and Colmes," Giuliani said, "it's a little…it's very humbling to think that running for president of the United States is for a kid from Brooklyn. It's quite a step."

Hmmm. Didn't George W. Bush talk about restoring humility to the presidency? My, these guys have good speech writers. When Bush smirks, it's because he's laughing at us and Rudy is no different.

Maha of The Mahablog gives Rudy Giuliani the business; here's a taste of what she has to say:

You might recall that several New York firefighters died when the towers collapsed. Giuliani testified to the 9/11 Commission that firefighters had been given an evacuation order, but they chose to stay because they were rescuing civilians. This testimony was not exactly, um, true.

(snip)

The police could not talk to the firefighters, however, because the two NY departments used different types of radios set on different frequencies. Giuliani offered the 9/11 commission a lame excuse about the limits of technology, which is absurd on its face. In fact, there had been many complaints about the radios before 9/11, and the Mayor had done nothing.

(snip)

In fact, many of the 9/11 families were so outraged at the gentle treatment Giuliani received at the hands of the 9/11 Commission that hundreds of them refused to go to the final hearings as scheduled. Today, some are threatening to campaign hard against Giuliani’s presidential bid.

For more than twenty-five years, Republicans have been getting pretty good press. I'm not sure how much more 'good press' our nation can stand. The disasters in Iraq and New Orleans are not good resume items for today's Republican Party.