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Giuliani Notes: Rudy Wins South Carolina GOP Debate
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (L) and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani talk before the start of a nationally televised Republican presidential debate from the Koger Center at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, May 15, 2007.
So, who won tonight’s debate?
Flap will wait for the polls. But, is there any doubt?
McCain and Romney were smacking each other and Rudy looked like a President and his throw down of Ron Paul begs to be seen again:
“Tonight it was clear there was only one candidate on the stage ready to be President of the United States. Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s command of the issues and unifying, optimistic vision for the future of this country stood out in stark contrast – proving he is the strong leader these times demand. He will bring our Party and our country together to win the terrorists’ war on us and keep our economy strong and growing.â€
Indeed
And the Fox News text message poll has Ron Paul winning……
Stay tuned…….
Update:
A Bad Night for Romney [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Last time around, Romney won and Rudy lost; this time around, I’d say it was exactly the other way around, with McCain in the middle both times.
CBN’s David Brody: “No offense to Stella, but if I was going to title this debate, I would call it, “How Giuliani got his groove back.”
NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/:
“Giuliani and McCain looked and acted like the frontrunners tonight. They got opportunities to look presidential and seized the moments. Romney, after a great first debate, turned in a very mediocre performance. Part of his problem were the surprisingly tough questions he received from his inquisitors which seemed to throw him off. But there was something about him that just seemed less present on stage tonight. Maybe it was because he wasn’t standing on the far left side of the stage, like
McCain this time and Romney was in the first debate.”Captain’s Quarters: Giuliani Wins, But Paul Threw The Game
Team Rudy should send a hundred roses to Ron Paul — yellow roses, of course — after the Congressman essentially tossed the debate to Giuliani. Rudy had a pretty good night going anyway, but when Paul as much as said that the terrorists had a point in killing 3,000 Americans, Rudy let fly with the righteous indigation that an entire nation was busily hurling at their television screens.
Update #2Mayor Giuliani: “I’ve Seen What Can Happen When You Make A Mistake†About Terrorism
Mayor Giuliani: “In the hypothetical that you gave me, which assumes that we know that there’s going to be another attack and these people know about it, I would tell the people who had to do the interrogation to use every method they could think of. Shouldn’t be torture, but every method they can think of. … And I would support them in doing that, because I’ve seen what can happen when you make a mistake about this, and I don’t want to see another 3,000 people dead in New York or anyplace else.â€
Mayor Giuliani: The Worst Thing To Show Terrorists Is Weakness.
Giuliani: “These people do want to follow us here and they have followed us here. Fort Dix happened a week ago. That was a situation in which six Islamic terrorists, who were not directed by Al Qaeda but claimed to have been inspired by them, were going to kill our military in cold blood at Fort Dix. It was a 16 month investigation done by the F.B.I. and United States Attorney’s office and thank God they caught them. But we have to remind ourselves that we are facing an enemy that is planning all over this world and it turns out planning inside our country to come here and kill us and the worst thing to do in the face of that is to show them weakness.â€
Mayor Giuliani: We Need To Identify Everyone In U.S. So We Can Find The Terrorists.
Mayor Giuliani: “The reality is the focus on immigration should be to know everyone who is in the United States. We should have a tamper-proof ID card. We should have a database in which we can identify the people who are in this country. I know something about security. I think I have had more experience at having to secure a city, having to deal with security and the justice department than I would say anyone on this stage. And the reality is we have got to be sensible about immigration. If we do the kinds of things that some of the people here are talking about, this country is going to be in greater danger, it’s going to be more insecure, we are going to face a situation in which terrorists, like the Fort Dix people, three of whom were illegal, can find a big underground to hide in. So, we need a fence, we need technological fence, we need tamper-proof ID card and we need a way that people who are working in this country can come forward, and sign up for the tamper proof ID card get in the database and start paying their way.â€
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Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani
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Giuliani Notes: Rudy Smacks Down Rep. Ron Paul During GOP Debate
Mayor Rudy Giuliani responds to Representative Ron Paul during the GOP Debate when he suggests that we invited 9/11 attack upon ourselves.
The WRATH of RUDY…….
You betcha………
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Duncan Hunter, Jim Gilmore, John McCain, Mitt Romney, President 2008, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Tom Tancredo
South Carolina GOP Debate Watch: The Second Debate
Former Mayor of New York city Rudy Giuliani waves as he arrives at the Koger Center to perform checks where the Republican Debate will be held in Columbia, South Carolina May 15, 2007.
Flap will write comments about the canddiates as the debate happens live.
The candidates take the stage.
The War in Iraq is the first topic and first question to McCain. McCain looks wooden and uneasy.
Next, Tommy Thompson. Malaki Iraq government must stand up.
Mitt Romney – any circumstance to pull out from Iraq? Answer rambles about Islamic radicals and talking points.
Brownback – his stand favoring Iraq Study Group and reaching consensus.
Format is much easier to follow………
Rudy – Congressional GOP must find success by September. Timetable for defeat? Corrects quote and says he was referring to Democrats. Agrees with McCain and calls him correct. Fort Dix example. Facing an enemy who wants to kill us and the worst thing to do is to show them weakness.
Tom Tancredo – supports troops as his role as Congressman
Ron Paul – in the wrong party?
Duncan Hunter – Chairman of Armed Services Committee, served in Vietanm, calls on other canddiates to lay out their credentials to be commander in chief.
Huckabee – need to listen to Generals
Gilmore – switch to question about Iran
Would you launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran to prevent them to achieve a nuclear weapon? Dialoge with American people when in fact we need to strike.
Second round of questions – domestic issues and economy
Mitt Romney – Flip Flop Mitt – Now take no tax pledge whereas before he would not. Says Washington is broken.
McCain – President Bush tax cuts. Opposed tax cuts. Spending is out of control. Did not lose 2006 on Iraq but on spending. Drunken sailor analogy.
Huckabee – alternative minimum tax. Eliminate tax? We have spent more money than John Edwards at a beauty shop. Much applause and laughter.
Rudy – killing line item veto. NYC spending rose. Spending actually decreased. Lowered taxes 23 times. PLedge to not fill 50% of retiring government employees. Also supports Regan-like across the board budget cuts – 5-25%. Quoted Club for Growth.
Chris Wallace opened up Rudy McRomney and questions Gilmore on why he thinks that some of the other candidates are not conservatives.
A round of questions on abortion and stem cell research
Fourth Round of questions on illegal immigration
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Cox & Forkum: Hamas Kindergarten
Cox & Forkum: Hamas Kindergarten
Fox News: Hamas ‘Mickey Mouse’ Wants Islam Takeover
Hamas militants have enlisted the iconic Mickey Mouse to broadcast their message of Islamic dominion and armed resistance to their most impressionable audience — little kids.A giant black-and-white rodent — named “Farfour,” or “butterfly,” but unmistakably a Mickey ripoff — does his high-pitched preaching against the U.S. and Israel on a children’s show run each Friday on Al-Aqsa TV, a station run by Hamas. The militant group, sworn to Israel’s destruction, shares power in the Palestinian government.
“You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists,” Farfour squeaked on a recent episode of the show, which is titled, “Tomorrow’s Pioneers.”
“We will return the Islamic community to its former greatness, and liberate Jerusalem, God willing, liberate Iraq, God willing, and liberate all the countries of the Muslims invaded by the murderers.”
Children call in to the show, many singing Hamas anthems about fighting Israel.
Israel has long complained that the Palestinian airwaves are filled with incitement.
An Israeli organization that monitors Palestinian media, Palestian Media Watch, said the Mickey Mouse lookalike takes “every opportunity to indoctrinate young viewers with teachings of Islamic supremacy, hatred of Israel and the U.S., and support of ‘resistance,’ the Palestinian euphemism for terror.”
Hamas later announced that it would remove Jihad Mickey, but it didn’t last long. FOX News reported this weekend: Hamas Continues Running Kids TV Show Featuring ‘Mickey Mouse’ Look-Alike Preaching Terror.
Just like the Nazis……indoctrinate them young and achieve your goal at all costs.
Have they no shame?
Apparently NOT…….
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Giuliani Notes: Rudy Continues to Lead GOP Field – The Harris Poll
WSJ: Giuliani Still Leads GOP Pack, Actor Fred Thompson Inches Up
As primary season nears, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani remains atop the ranks of Republican presidential hopefuls. But an as-yet-undeclared candidate, actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, has elbowed his way into the top tier of potential nominees and now rivals Arizona Sen. John McCain in popularity, the latest survey from Harris Interactive shows.
Among those who said they expect to vote in the Republican primaries and caucuses, 38% said they would be most likely to vote for Mr. Giuliani. His closest rivals, according to the poll, were Arizona Sen. John McCain and Mr. Thompson, each drawing the support of 18% of the respondents.
The GOP Nuts:
And, then there is this:
Republican leaders whom adults would “consider voting” for in the presidential race
Looks like Fred Thompson, Colin Powell or Coni Rice might make a good vice president candidate – especially with their appeal to independent voters.
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Steps Up Uranium Enrichment
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a ceremony at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, 220 miles south of Tehran, April 9, 2007. Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran is starting to enrich uranium on a much larger scale after solving key technical problems in that process, The New York Times reported on Monday.
New York Times: Atomic Agency Concludes Iran Is Stepping Up Nuclear Work
Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is now beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before, according to the agency’s top officials.
The findings may change the calculus of diplomacy in Europe and in Washington, which aimed to force a suspension of Iran’s enrichment activities in large part to prevent it from learning how to produce weapons-grade material.
In a short-notice inspection of Iran’s operations in the main nuclear facility at Natanz on Sunday, conducted in advance of a report to the United Nations Security Council due early next week, the inspectors found that Iranian engineers were already using roughly 1,300 centrifuges and were producing fuel suitable for nuclear reactors, according to diplomats and nuclear experts here.
Until recently, the Iranians were having difficulty keeping the delicate centrifuges spinning at the tremendous speeds necessary to make nuclear fuel and were often running them empty or not at all.
Now, those roadblocks appear to have been surmounted. “We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich,†said Mohammed ElBaradei, the director general of the energy agency, who clashed with the Bush administration four years ago when he declared that there was no evidence that Iraq had resumed its nuclear program. “From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that’s a fact.â€
What a surprise. Iran has stalled long enough andi ignored the United Nations Security Council enough to begin full scale uranium enrichment in order to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
So, what will the United States and Israel do?
A third round of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
And what will be the result, you ask?
Iran will stall and moan until they have achieved, like North Korea, ” BREAKOUT CAPABILITY.”
The inspectors have tested the output and concluded that Iran is producing reactor-grade uranium, enriched to a little less than 5 percent purity. But that still worries American officials and experts here at the I.A.E.A. If Iran stores the uranium and later runs it through its centrifuges for another four or five months, it can raise the enrichment level to 90 percent — the level needed for a nuclear weapon.
In the arcane terminology of nuclear proliferation, that is known as a “breakout capability,†the ability to throw inspectors out of the country and then produce weapons-grade fuel, as North Korea did in 2003.
Some Bush administration officials and some nuclear experts here at the I.A.E.A. and elsewhere suspect that the Iranians may not be driving for a weapon but rather for that “breakout capability,†because that alone can serve as a nuclear deterrent. It would be a way for Iran to make clear that it could produce a bomb on short notice, without actually possessing one.
One senior European diplomat, who declined to speak for attribution, said Washington would now have to confront the question of whether it wants to keep Iran from producing any nuclear material or whether it wants to keep Tehran from gaining the ability to build a weapon on short notice.
“The key decision you have to make right now,†the diplomat said, “is that if you don’t want the breakout scenario, you would have to freeze the Iranian program at a laboratory scale. Because if you continue this stalemate, that will bring you, eventually, to a breakout capability.â€
As Flap has stated for weeks: “THE NUCLEAR POINT OF NO RETURN” has been reached.
But, will the United States have the political will to take military action against Iran?
Probably not…..and why not?
Let’s take a look at the polls:
The American people by wide majorities do NOT favor military action against Iran.
And would President Bush with low approval ratings because of the Iraq War risk further alienation with a Democrat controlled Congress over Iran? Or impeachment?
Proably notThe direction of the Iran-United States conflict will be to “go along” with Iran, while Iran enriches enough uranium to reach “BREAKOUT CAPABILITY.” In other words, President Bush will punt this issue to the next President.
But, by then, it will be too late to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Will Israel wait?
Stay tuned…….
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Leads Anti-USA Rally in Dubai
Iran Nuclear Watch: Vice President Cheney Warns Iran
Iran Nuclear Watch: Olmert – 10 Day Attack Will Set Iran’s Nuclear Program Back Years
Iran Watch: US-Iranian Nuclear Worker Steals Nuclear Plant Software for Iran
John McCain Watch: Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Moves Ahead with Uranium Enrichment
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Will Respond to United Nations Sanctions
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran To Build Two Additional Bushehr Nuclear Power Plants
The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
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Giuliani Notes: Rudy 25% McCain 18% Thompson 15% Romney 12% in Latest Rasmussen National Poll
Rasmussen Reports: 2008 Republican Presidential Primary
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to lead the race for the Republican Presidential nomination. However, for the second straight week, his support is down to the 25% level in a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. That’s the lowest level of support he’s enjoyed in weekly Rasmussen Reports polling all year.
Still, it gives him a seven-point advantage over Arizona Senator John McCain who is supported by 18%. McCain reached a high of 22% support in January and then slipped as low as 14% two weeks ago before recovering a bit last week. Two weeks ago, Giuliani led McCain by 16 percentage points.
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has not formally entered the race, but remains in third place at 15% while former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney once again enjoys support from 12%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who recently indicated there’s a good chance he’ll jump in the race this fall, slipped a point this week and is now the favorite for just 7%. Numbers for Thompson, Romney, and Gingrich have been very stable over the past six weeks.
The GOP Nuts:
Rudy – 25%
McCain – 18%
Thompson – 15%
Romney – 12%
Gingrich – 7%
Rudy’s free fall since the Fred Thompson rumored candidacy has ended and his support has stabilized at 25%. Should Thompson and Gingrich run, the GOP vote will be further fragmented.
Will this aid the Mayor’s candidacy?
Probably
Hizzoner goes into tonight’s debate in South Carolina as the continuing front-runner.
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Day By Day by Chris Muir May 15, 2007
