Friday, November 23, 2007

JOHN MCCAIN, RUDY GIULIANI

McCain Goes to Iraq Again; Will Rudy Go Sometime?

With McCain spending Thanksgiving in Iraq — his third trip to that country this year — I'm reminded of Rudy Giuliani's statement that he hoped to visit Iraq before the end of the year. Hasn't happened yet.

It's not the end of the world if Giuliani doesn't get to Iraq by December 31, but I suspect as next month progresses, he'll get more questions on it. I wouldn't be surprised if some rival tried to make an issue of it.

All in all, I've got to start wondering aloud, not just for Giuliani but for almost any candidate... yes, a trip to Iraq takes a great deal of planning and probably takes the candidate out of the country for 48-72 hours... but which is going to do you more good, a trip to Iraq to see the circumstances with your own eyes, or one more town hall meeting? One more round of handshakes in a diner, or the ability to say, "When I was walking through Baghdad, I saw..."?

UPDATE: As I understand it, Giuliani had a trip previously scheduled earlier this year, and it was postponed. I understand Giuliani has made a request through the White House to participate in a trip in the near future, and that the details and dates have not yet been nailed down.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Team Rudy offers a statement from Katie Levinson, Communications Director:
 
“Of course Rudy wants to go to Iraq and he has made that very clear to the Administration for some time.  Unfortunately, when he goes is not ultimately his decision and Rudy understands that.”

11/23 12:59 PMShare