McCain vs. Giuliani

Well it finally appears that at least one Republican is ready to get tough against GOP Presidential frontrunner, Rudy Giuliani. Too long have the other Republican Presidential candidates let Giuliani falsify his way to the top of the polls. This past week, and especially today on Fox News Sunday, John McCain began to lead the fight on pointing out how the former New York City mayor isn't as experienced as he would like you to think.

McCain first turned up the heat on Giuliani Thursday when it was announced that Giuliani's former police chief, Bernard Kerik, had been indicted on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and lying to the IRS. Giuliani had apparently been briefed on Kerik's past and still proceeded to hire him as police chief. In late 2003, Giuliani, with knowledge of Kerik's criminal past, recommended to the President that Kerik should succeed Tom Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security. President Bush, because of Giuliani's recommendation, did nominate Kerik. (Kerik eventually withdrew his acceptance of the nomination.) McCain is now calling Giuliani out on his judgment, and rightfully so. We don't need another President like the one we have now---one that puts personal friendship and loyalty before the law. McCain pointed out that today on Fox that Giuliani essentially tells voters that he is the only candidate that they can trust with national security. Yet, as McCain said, how can Giuliani be trusted on homeland security if he was willing to recommended Kerik, whom Giuiani apparently knew had criminal ties, to the post of Secretary of Homeland Security.

The second issue on which McCain has come out swinging against Giuliani is on the topic of foreign policy experience. Giuliani, in just about every speech, touts how experienced he is on foreign policy. The fact is that Giuliani has zero foreign policy experience. McCain, on the other hand, has a plethora of experience when it comes to dealing with foreign nations.

The third issue that I think is critical is the fact that Giuliani quit the Iraq Study Group because he wanted to make more money by giving speeches. Anybody like Giuliani, who is worth millions of dollars yet thinks that making more money is more important than the Iraq War, shouldn't be President. McCain pointed that out this morning saying something to the effect that a President must show that he cares and is interested in the troops, but Giuliani failed to do so when given a prime opportunity. McCain, however, has shown a great interest in our troops by visiting Iraq many times and talking to soldiers when they arrive home.

The reason Giuliani is leading in the polls is clearly because voters see him as the most experienced on issues such as national security, foreign relations, and the war in Iraq. But, by looking at Giuliani's past compared with other candidates, you see that Giuliani is indeed the least experienced candidate. Joe Biden was definitely right when he called Giuliani "the most unqualified person to be commander-in-chief". With that being said, the other GOP candidates have done absolutely nothing to challenge Giuliani on his record. Finally though, John McCain has started to do just that. And while I am certainly not a John McCain fan, I am even less of a Rudy fan and I am very glad to see that at least one GOP candidate is trying to get the truth out to the American public. Rudy Giuliani is not what he says he is---not by far. Republicans would do themselves a lot of good to actually look into Rudy's past and make an informed decision, instead of believing every word that Giuliani says.