Tuesday, October 16, 2007

RUDY GIULIANI

Rudy Giuliani at the Republican Jewish Coalition Candidate Forum

Rudy begins by talking about the moment he knew Ronald Reagan would win the presidency, when he heard Manhattan Jews talking about voting for him at a bar mitzvah.

“You would figure these folks would be voting for the Democrat. I mean, this is a city Abraham Lincoln didn’t carry… That’s why when they ask, ‘are you a real Republican?’ I say, ‘I gave my blood for the Republican party in New York.’ I was the first Republican mayor of New York in twenty-five years, and I was the first one to stay a Republican in fifty years.”

“We don’t win this election if we don’t run in California and New York. We can’t afford to give them away, the margin of error is getting smaller. We can’t afford to give away California, and New York, and Connecticut, Jersey, Pennsylvania… We ask Florida to do a lot.”

Giuliani notes that the Soviet Union had a “residual rationality” that today’s enemies do not.

“Ahmedinijad a seriously irrational man or he does such a good imitation of one, we should take him seriously. Ahmedinjiad could change tomorrow, and Iran is going to remain the same threat, unless there’s a serious change in that regime.”

Calls for companies to divest from Iran.“Look at it this way, if the United States is clear about its willingness to use the military option, the chances of having to do that decline.”

Referring to the release of the embassy hostages in 1981, Giuliani says of the Iranians, “They saw something very different in Ronald Reagan’s eyes that they didn’t see in Jimmy Carter’s eyes…Weakness invites attack. Strength keeps you safe.”

Giuliani mentions Hillary's criticism of Barack Obama's willingness to have face-to-face meetings with dictators without conditions: "That's the first time I agreed with her since she said she was a Yankee fan... They say, but Ronald Reagan negotiated with the Soviet Union. I say this most respectfully... You're not Ronald Reagan."

10/16 10:18 AM Share