Heeere’s Rudy!
By GAIL COLLINS
New York Times
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
“As I’ve pointed out over and over again ...” Rudy Giuliani said this week at a press conference in a South Florida suburb.
The great Russell Baker once observed that when a reporter finds himself writing “Once again this year ...” it’s time to look for a new beat. When a presidential candidate starts confiding to his audience that he could give his speech in his sleep, as Rudy has been doing, it may be time to consider another line of work.
Tuesday’s Florida primary is supposed to be the Giuliani firewall, his explanation for why he kept coming in third or fourth or fifth everywhere else. Of course he didn’t get any votes in Michigan! How could anybody expect him to do well in Iowa? He had to campaign in Florida!
After a while, it began to take on the eerie quality of “The Shining.” He’s only at 15 percent in some of the polls — could he really have been campaigning here for a month and a half? Cue a picture of the candidate sitting in a basement somewhere, writing “All work and no play makes Rudy a dull boy” on the walls.
At first, Giuliani’s unusual strategy seemed unusual but not entirely irrational. He would win over Florida by proving that he loved it more than any other state, the way John McCain loved New Hampshire and Mitt Romney loved Michigan. But many commentators have pointed out — really very unkindly — that the longer Giuliani stayed in Florida, the lower his standing in the state polls. Perhaps it would have been wiser for him to make his stand in a place where people had barely heard of him.
(Continued here.)
New York Times
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
“As I’ve pointed out over and over again ...” Rudy Giuliani said this week at a press conference in a South Florida suburb.
The great Russell Baker once observed that when a reporter finds himself writing “Once again this year ...” it’s time to look for a new beat. When a presidential candidate starts confiding to his audience that he could give his speech in his sleep, as Rudy has been doing, it may be time to consider another line of work.
Tuesday’s Florida primary is supposed to be the Giuliani firewall, his explanation for why he kept coming in third or fourth or fifth everywhere else. Of course he didn’t get any votes in Michigan! How could anybody expect him to do well in Iowa? He had to campaign in Florida!
After a while, it began to take on the eerie quality of “The Shining.” He’s only at 15 percent in some of the polls — could he really have been campaigning here for a month and a half? Cue a picture of the candidate sitting in a basement somewhere, writing “All work and no play makes Rudy a dull boy” on the walls.
At first, Giuliani’s unusual strategy seemed unusual but not entirely irrational. He would win over Florida by proving that he loved it more than any other state, the way John McCain loved New Hampshire and Mitt Romney loved Michigan. But many commentators have pointed out — really very unkindly — that the longer Giuliani stayed in Florida, the lower his standing in the state polls. Perhaps it would have been wiser for him to make his stand in a place where people had barely heard of him.
(Continued here.)
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