Ok... I have been accused already of attacked Giuliani by my fellow republicans. I am not ANTI-Giuliani... However, I am asking questions and so should you as well! I really am not happy with the current field of possible republican nominees, and I will continue to be vocal about it. And to those of you have decided to email me and complain about my negative Giuliani coverage... Get a damn life, this is my take on the former mayor, who seems way too liberal to be in the republican party. And this is coming from me; "a moderate war-hawk".
Giuliani: Personal life doesn’t affect career
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN
Telegraph Staff
Nashua Telegraph, Nashua,NH
SOURCE ARTICLE
NEW CASTLE – Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said public confrontations with critics and the breakup of his second marriage at the end of the 1990s did not affect his job cutting taxes, fighting crime and creating jobs as New York’s mayor.
During a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph on Tuesday, Giuliani said questions about his personal life and temperament come as no surprise in this 2008 campaign and voters should carefully evaluate successes and failures he had in public life during those years.
“The issue about somebody’s personal life and temperament comes down to how do they perform their job. I’ve been an employer for a long time. And that’s how I look at those issues,” Giuliani said after speaking to a packed house of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce at the Wentworth By The Sea.
“My analysis is, if it’s being fair, is how did it affect their work?”
Giuliani’s tenure as mayor of New York from 1990-2002 was marked by success cracking down on street crime, reducing the welfare caseloads, cutting several city taxes and ultimately helping the city rebound from unforgettable tragedy with the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001.
His critics point during those years to personal struggles, such as the breakup of his second marriage with Donna Hanover.
Giuliani announced a separation the same day in 2000 the New York Daily News reported he was having an extramarital affair with his now-third wife, Judith Nathan.
Throughout his tenure, Giuliani’s strong personality won plenty of enemies.
Former Mayor Ed Koch summed it up after activists questioned Giuliani’s repeated defense of New York Police officers after shooting incidents involving minority residents.
“Blacks and Hispanics . . . would say to me, ‘He’s a racist!’ I said, ‘Absolutely not, he’s nasty to everybody,’ ” Koch said at the time.
Giuliani said with political, and yes, sometimes personal controversy swirling around him, he still did well one of the most difficult jobs in America.
“If they think I had issues in my personal life, did it distract me in any way in reducing the level of crime in New York by 50, 60, 70 percent?” Giuliani asked rhetorically.
“Even as mayor of New York, I made mistakes. When you look at those, you say how many failures and did the successes far outweigh the failures?
“If that suggests the level of success versus failure might be pretty good in a president, maybe I am your candidate.”
Giuliani, a social moderate, denied he’s deliberately refusing to talk about his support for abortion rights, gay rights and limited gun control.
“My position on social issues have been articulated over and over again. On abortion, I oppose abortion, I think it’s wrong. I would counsel people not to have an abortion, but ultimately, I believe that is an individual choice and you can’t put somebody in jail for it,” he said.
On gay rights, Giuliani said he supports marriage as only between a man and a woman but would support laws granting some legal rights to gays and lesbians.
The former mayor and federal prosecutor said he believes the Second Amendment in the Constitution gives individuals the right to bear arms and he would appoint judges who agree with that interpretation.
Giuliani touted his record of cutting city taxes 23 times in New York while Democrats dominated the City Council, a record as a fiscal conservative he claims no GOP primary rival can match.
“I would not make a pledge. I would just ask people to do something more important than take a pledge. Look at my prior record,” Giuliani said.
Tags: NEW CASTLE, New hampshire, nh, n.h., nashua telegraph, kevin landrigan, personal life doesn't affect career, new york's mayor, former mayor, new york city, presidential primary, manchester, candidate, opinion, debate, republicanLabels: Giuliani, New Hampshire, News, Opinion, Politics, Primary, Rudy Giuliani |
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