Sunday, January 06, 2008

MIKE HUCKABEE, RUDY GIULIANI

Dueling Resumes, and 'I Told Him What To Do With It.'

Wallace unloads on Huckabee, listing all of his gaffes and then asks if he's ready to be commander in chief.

Huckabee says he has been to 41 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Cites his executive experience.

"I think my leadership skills are clear. I led our state and in every single area we improved."

Wallace cites McCain's backhanded compliment, that he "praised his post-9/11 leadership, but"

Giuliani: "Say no more! Stop right there!"

"My being mayor of New York City encompassed a lot more than 9/11." Rudy cites Justice Department work, and travels overseas.

Then he tells about the Saudi Prince and the ten million dollar check that came with criticism of U.S. policy , and said, "I returned it, and told him what to do with it." See, I don't know if he'll get the nomination, but I like a candidate who brags that he has made an anatomically uncomfortable recommendation to a Saudi ruler.

Shifting to endorsements for a moment, Fred slides the knife in gently when he turns to Romney: "Wasn't that Ted Kennedy at the bill signing for your health care plan?"

Then he explains to Huckabee that bringing Gitmo prisoners here would give them Habeus Corpus rights that they don't currently have. It's another Arthur Branch moment that works quite well for him.

Judging by the number of people who Googlechatted me at exactly that moment, Mike Huckabee may have stepped in it, because he appeared to assert that physically being in the United States was irrelevant for habeas corpus purposes.

I think Fred's having a good night. But will his style sell well in New Hampshire? He could do fantastic tonight, and triple his support, and still be in single digits on Tuesday.

Fox News sticks the shiv in Romney as well, as when McCain refers to Romney's description of his plan as "reasonable, and not amnesty", they flash on the screen the quote from the Boston Globe, where Romney called it "reasonable, and quite different from amnesty." John McCain, you owe Roger Ailes a bottle of Scotch.

01/06 08:48 PMShare